"LIBRARY 

OF   THE 
U  N  I  VLR.5  ITY 
or    ILLINOIS 

S5a.0773l 
Cop. a 


The  person  charging  this  material  is  responsible  for 
Its  return  to  the  library  from  which  it  was  withdrawn 
on  or  before  the  Latest  Date  stamped  below 

Sr-Zn"*' h"'  ""'^  ""''«ri*"*"9  o'  books  are  reasons  for  discipli- 
nary action  and  may  result  in  dismissal  from  the  University 
To  renew  call  Telephone  Center,  333-8400 


UNIVERSITY    OF    ILLINOIS    LIBRARY    AT    URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


ms  2  0  mi: 

APR  0  ?,  1390 
APR  2  2  i9J)o 

OCT  0  4  2004 
JAN  2  8  A,H 


L161— O-1096 


REPORT 


MAYOR     AND     THE     CITY     COUNCIL 


CITY    OF     CHICAGO 


LAKE    SHORE   RECLAMATION    COMMISSION 


THEODORE    K.    LONG, 

CHAIRMAN 


CHICAGO,     1912 


137 
BARNARD   &   MILLER,   PRINTERS,    CHICAGO 


U.OFfa.llB. 


LAKE  SHORE  RECLAMATION  COMMISSION 


THEODORE  K.  LONG.   Chairman. 
WILLIAM  H.  SEXTON,  Corporation  Counsel. 
G.  B.  YOUNG,  M.  D.,  Commissioner  of  Health. 


Cop- 


LETTER  OF   TRANSMITTAL. 


Chicago,  November  1,  1912. 
To  the  Mayor  and  the  City  Council: 

In  the  preparation  of  this  report  by  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commis- 
^   sion,  the  chairman  has  endeavored  to  present  without  prejudice  a  true  picture 
"^t;^    of  the  essential  proceedings  had  by  said  Commission  on  its  own  initiative,  and 
^  also  such  proceedings  as  were  taken  or  participated  in  by  sundry  individuals 
■\  and   organizations   co-operating   with   said   Commission,   said   proceedings   hav- 
ing reference  to  the  acquisition  for  the  use  of  the  public  of  that  portion  of 
the  water  front  of  Lake  Michigan  situate  between   Jackson   Park  and   Grant 
Park  in  the  City  of  Chicago. 

When  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission  was  organized,  it  was  as- 
sumed that  its  true  function  was  to  arouse  activity,  create  public  sentiment 
and  lend  substantial  aid  in  all  things  tending  toward  or  helpful  in  the  recov- 
ery, for  the  utilization  by  the  public,  of  the  lake  shore,  in  short,  so  to  admin- 
ister the  affairs  with  which  it  had  to  do  that,  as  the  result  thereof,  Chicago 
would  not  only  acquire  physical  possession  of  the  lake  shore,  but  would  also  be 
able  to  make  the  best  possible  use  of  such  possession  when  acquired. 

•  In  connection  with  the  sundry  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  Commis- 
sion, the  chairman  desires  to  express  his  acknowledgment  to  the  Corporation 
Counsel  and  his  assistants,  also  to  Mr.  George  Inman  of  the  Map  Department 
and  to  Mr.  John  Ericson,  City  Engineer,  for  valuable  assistance  and  counsel  at 
all  times  accorded  during  the  prosecution  of  the  work  set  forth  in  the  accom- 
panying report. 

Very  respectfully, 

Theodore  K.  Long, 
Chairman  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Introduction 7 

Text  of  Report  Proper. 
I. 

the    morgan    claim — CHICAGO    BEACH    HOTEL 16 

Suit  commenced — Negotiations  for  settlement — Tenta- 
tive adjustment — Refusal  of  Attorney  General  to  confirm 
tentative  adjustment — Preparation  of  case  for  trial. 

II. 

THE  LAKE  SHORE  EXTENDING  SOUTH  FROM  EAST  END  PARK  TO 
JACKSON  PARK  AND  INVOLVING  FIVE  SEPARATE  CLAIMS  KNOWN 
AS  THE  PULLMAN,  JONES,  BREGA,  SHEDD  AND  LEHMANN  CLAIMS, 
RESPECTIVELY.    .    .    , 17 

Suit  commenced — Negotiations  for  settlement — Ap- 
pointment of  John  Barton  Payne  as  Chairman  of  the  South 
Park  Commission  and  renewal  of  negotiations  for  settle- 
ment— Proposition  of  June  23,  1911,  by  Harry  S.  Mecart- 
ney  for  claimants — Correspondence  with  Attorney  General 
Stead — Union  League  Club  conference  of  September  27, 
1911 — Attorney  General's  letter  of  October  9,  1911,  setting 
forth  his  dissenting  views — Correspondence  between  John 
Barton  Payne,  Theodore  K.  Long,  and  Governor  Deneen, 
relative  to  additional  legislation — Act  approved  June  11, 
1912,  conferring  greater  power  upon  the  Park  Commission- 
ers— Conference  of  July  9,  1912,  at  office  of  John  Barton 
Payne — Final  adjustment  of  claims. 

III. 

THE  LAKE  SHORE  EXTENDING  FROM  THE  CHICAGO  BEACH  HOTEL 
TO  GRANT  PARK,  A  DISTANCE  OF  APPROXIMATELY  4r^  MILES, 
INVOLVING  THE  CLAIM  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  CO,       33 

1.  Proceedings  in  Court— Attempts  to  affect  an  am- 
icable adjustment — Memorandum  of  City's  claims — Reso- 
lutions by  the  South  Park  Commissioners — Chicago  Club 
conference — Agreement  of  December  11,  1912,  between  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  South  Park 
Commissioners — Conferences  of  December  14th  and  Decem- 
ber 18th  at  the  LaSalle  Hotel  and  the  Mayor's  office,  re- 
spectively. 


4 

PAGE 

2.  Proceedings  before  the  Committee  on  Harbors, 
Wharves  and  Bridges  of  the  City  Council — Reference  of 
entire  subject  matter  to  the  Corporation  Counsel,  Decem- 
ber 23,  1912 — Letter  to  the  Corporation  Counsel,  January 
6,  1912 — Correspondence  ^^ith  John  Barton  Payne — Opin- 
ion of  the  Corporation  Counsel — Report  of  Committee 
Meetings,  January  23rd,  24th,  26th,  29th,  30th  and  February 
2nd  and  5th. 

3.  Efforts  to  Procure  Legislation — New  agreement  of 
March  30, 1912,  between  the  South  Park  Commissioners  and 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company — Correspondence 
with  the  Mayor  relative  to  new  agreement — Petition  to  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County  and  Final  Decree  of  Judge 
Honore. 

IV. 

COMMENTS  ox  LAKE   SHORE   SETTT.EMENTS 290 

y. 

THE  CALUMET  DISTEICT,  INCLUDING  THE  ENTIRE  SHORE  OF  LAKE 

CALUMET  IN   SOUTH   CHICAGO 292 

VI. 

APPENDICES. 

Appendix  A 301 

1.  Letter  of  Theodore  K.  Long  to  the  Corporation 
Counsel,  calling  for  an  opinion  on  Lake  Shore  own- 
ership. 

2.  Opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel. 

Appendix  B ,   311 

1.  Extract  from  the  Record  Herald  of  April  3,  1910, 
Chicago  Beach  Hotel  Suit. 

2.  Extract  from  the  Chicago  News  of  May  19,  1910, 
on  the  filing  of  sundry  suits  for  the  recovery  of  the 
Lake  Front. 

Appendix  C 314 

Resolution  of  the  City  Council  calling  upon  the  Gov- 
ernor to  convene  the  General  Assembly  in  Special 
Session. 

Appendix  I) 315 

Extract  from  Chicago  Post,  July  13,  1911. 


PAGE 

Appendix  E 316 

Extract  from  Chicago  Tribune,  November  26,  1911. 

Appendix  F 318 

Agreement  of  December  11,  1911,  between  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company,  and  proposed  ordinance  of  the  City 
Council  ratifying  said  agreement. 

Appendix  G 331 

1.  Opinion  of  Corporation  Counsel  on  Proposed  Ordi- 
nance ratifying  agreement  of  December  11,  1912,  be- 
tween the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company. 

2.  New  Ordinance  prepared  by  the  Corporation  Coun- 
sel and  transmitted  with  his  aforesaid  opinion. 

Appendix  H 34U 

1.  Petition  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County,  asking  for  the  con- 
firmation of  the  agreement  of  March  30,  1912,  be- 
tween said  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company. 

2.  Agreement  of  March  30,  1912,  between  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company. 

3.  Supplemental  agreement  of  June  26,  1912,  between 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  Company. 

4.  Final  Decree  of  Judge  Honore,  July  10,  1912. 

Appendix  1 366 

1.  Sundry  data — Correspondence  with  Congressman 
James  R.  Mann,  relative  to  dumping  in  Lake  Michi- 
gan. 

2.  Act  of  the  Federal  Congress  prohibiting  dumping 
within  eight  miles  of  the  shore. 

Appendix  J. ,. 368 

1.  Letter  of  Corporation  Counsel  Brundage,  Decem- 
ber 15,  1909,  relative  to  "Made  Lands"  between  24th 
and  26th  streets. 

2.  Letter  of  April  27,  1910,  to  Henry  G.  Foreman, 
Chairman  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  relative 
to  Lake  Shore  Suits  then  pending. 


PAGE 

3.  Letter  to  Corporation  Connsel  Brundage,  June  8, 

1910,  relative  to  the  Pullman  Claim. 

4.  Letter  to  Corporation  Connsel  Brunda.ae  of  July 
20,  1910,  relative  to  filling  Morgan  Shoal. 

5.  Letter  to  Corporation  Counsel  Sexton,  October  17, 

1911,  relative  to  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  Claim. 

G.  Letter  from  E.  A.  Potter,  January  26,  1912,  rela- 
tive to  the  agreement  of  December  11,  1911,  between 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  Company. 

Appendix  K 374 

1.  Map  showing  proposed  location  of  bathing  beaches 
as  follows: 

L  JNIontrose  Avenue; 

2.  Diversev  Boulevard; 

3.  Ohio  Street; 

4.  22nd  Street; 

5.  39th  Street; 

6.  51st  Street; 

7.  Jackson  Park; 

8.  79th  Street. 

2.  Correspondence  with  Edward  0.  Brown  relative 
to  above  proposed  treatment  of  the  Lake  Shore. 

3.  Correspondence  with  John  Barton  Payne  concern- 
ing the  treatment  of  the  Lake  Shore  at  51st  street 
and  jMorgan  Shoal  relative  to  the  building  of  an 
Island  Park  and  outer  Boulevard. 

4.  Three  plats  showing  proposed  treatment  of  Morgan 
Shoal. 

5.  Recommendations  of  Committee  on  Bathing 
Beaches. 

C.     Reiiort  of  City  Engineer  Ericson. 

7.     Estimates  of  cost,  etc. 

Appendix  L 380 

AVithdrawal  of  appearances  and  answers  of  the  City  by 
the  Cor])oration  Counsel  in  the  Illinois  Central  Lake 
Shore  Case. 

Appendix  M 383 

Survey  of  Lake  Calumet. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The  rush  to  the  cities  which  has  taken  place  during  the 
last  two  decades  is  not,  as  has  been  sometimes  observed,  an  ab- 
normal tendency  of  the  race.  It  is  strictly  in  conformity  with 
man's  innate  gregariousness.  More  than  a  century  and  a  half 
ago  Sir  William  Blackstone,  discussing  this  subject,  said : 

Man  was  formed  for  society,  and,  as  is  demonstrated  by  the  writ- 
ers on  this  subject,  is  neither  capable  of  living  alone,  nor,  indeed,  has 
the  courage  to  do  it.* 

So  we  find  that  in  all  time  the  tendency  of  man  has  been 
to  cluster  in  groups:  first,  in  family  groups,  then,  for  pur- 
poses of  mutual  protection,  in  larger  groups  or  communities, 
and  as  commerce  and  trade  developed,  in  still  larger  groups, 
which  latter  became  the  walled  cities  of  the  earlier  ages,  and, 
later,  the  great  European  municipalities  of  to-day.  And  while 
it  was  found  that  the  assembling  of  men  in  cities  afforded 
greater  personal  protection  at  first  from  the  common  enemy  and 
greatly  facilitated  commerce,  it  soon  developed  that  in  certain 
congested  districts  of  the  larger  aggregations  of  population,  sun- 
dry vices  and  evils  developed  and  flourished  that  were  practic- 
ally absent  from  the  race  when  living  in  a  bucolic  or  pastoral 
condition,  and  then  arose  the  complex  questions  resulting  from 
the  social  evil,  poverty,  the  criminal,  the  insane,  sanitation, 
housing,  and  the  numerous  ills  that  followed  in  their  train. 

With  the  development  of  the  sundry  evils  enumerated,  it 
may  be  said  that  the  city  is  in  a  certain  sense  a  destroyer  or 
consumer  of  mankind,  both  material  and  spiritual,  just  as  it 
is  in  a  larger  sense  a  consumer  of  all  material  things.  The 
tendency  of  man  in  certain  city  districts  is  to  degenerate,  to 
revert  to  first  types,  so  that  he  grows  less  and  less  serviceable 
as  a  unit  in  our  social  machine,  as  a  bread  winner,  as  a  soldier 
to  defend  the  nation  in  time  of  peril  and  as  a  citizen  in  general. 
Much  of  this  tendency  toward  degeneration  is  traceable  to  im- 
proper housing  and  environment,  and  can  be  largely  obviated 
by  proper  city  building. 

Several  years  ago  the  writer  gave  this  all  important  sub- 
ject no  little  attention  in  connection  with  his  studies  as  Chair- 
man of  the  Building  Committee  of  the  City  Council,  and  after 
a  strenuous  struggle  succeeded  in  having  adopted  a  complete 
new  building  code  for  Chicago,  which,  while  a  vast  improvement 
on  the  old  law,  is  still  sadly  deficient  in  its  failure  to  include 

*Sharswood's  Blackstone's  Com.,  Vol.  1,  p.  42. 


those  reforms  necessary  to  eliminate  vicious  construction,  poor 
ventilation  and  unsanitary  housing  conditions,  resulting  from 
cheap  construction  or  the  so-called  poor  man's  dwelling.  Yet, 
Chicago  has  made  a  substantial  start  in  the  right  direction,  and 
with  the  application  of  sane  methods  in  the  future,  may  hope 
to  attain  almost  ideal  conditions  in  time. 

Mr.  Kaymond  Unwin,  an  eminent  London  architect,  who 
laid  out  Hampstead  Garden  and  the  new  city  of  Lechworth — 
both  London  suburbs — in  a  talk  with  the  writer  at  a  recent 
luncheon  given  at  Hull  House  by  Miss  Jane  Addams,  said  that 
the  poj^ulation  of  his  native  city  is  normally  increasing  at  the 
rate  of  500,000  every  ten  years,  or,  in  other  words,  England's 
metropolis  is  adding  approximately  a  million  people  to  her  pop- 
ulation every  twenty  years.  Having  determined  the  approxi- 
mate rate  of  increase,  Londoners  have  organized  a  commission 
whose  special  function  it  is  to  provide  land  and  buildings  in 
advance  for  the  accommodation  of  the  coming  thousands.  This 
is  a  splendid  step  upward,  and  the  result  is  that  hundreds  of 
acres  have  already  been  pre-empted  and  have  been  prepared  for 
tne  coming  city  dwellers  of  greater  London. 

London  has  learned  from  experience  what  Chicago  has  yet 
to  learn,  that  the  most  valuable  product  of  our  civilization  is 
not  found  in  its  hogs  and  cattle,  its  skyscrapers  and  railroads, 
its  powerful  banks  and  great  marts  of  commerce,  but  in  its 
healthy,  vigorous,  efficient  and  patriotic  boys  and  girls  and  men 
and  women,  and  that  the  enduring  greatness  of  a  nation  must  be 
measured,  in  a  large  degree,  by  the  foresight  with  which  her 
people  are  safeguarded  in  their  physical  and  mental  environ- 
ment. And  this  means  to  us  here  in  Chicago,  not  only  beautiful 
boulevards  and  palatial  museums  along  the  lake  shore,  but 
more  particularly  does  it  mean  the  abolition  of  the  unwhole- 
some and  illy  ventilated,  disease-breeding  tenements  of  the  poor, 
and  the  acquisition  of  more  small  parks  in  the  congested  dis- 
tricts and  more  free  bathing  beaches  and  playgrounds  for  the 
masses. 

Chicago  must  profit  by  the  experience  of  London.  We 
must  build  our  city  not  alone  for  the  several  millions  now 
here,  but  for  the  other  millions  who  are  sure  to  come.  This  is 
the  true  logic  of  city  building  and  constitutes  the  real  raison 
d'  etre  for  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission,  the  Chi- 
cago Plan  Commission,  the  South  Park  Commission,  the  Asso- 
ciation of  Commerce,  the  Lincoln  Park  Board  and  such 
other  organizations  as  have  aided  in  carrying  on  the  work  in- 
augurated in  this  direction  through  the  untiring  and  far-seeing 
efforts  of  a  comparatively  small  coterie  of  members  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club  of  Chicago,  under  the  enthusiastic  leadership  and 
inspiration  of  that  genius  of  city  building  and  planning,  the 


9 

late  Daniel  H.  Burnliam,  who,  with  his  splendid  detail  knowl- 
edge of  the  artistic  structures  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  an 
innate  prescience  of  his  city's  needs,  began  to  evolve  in  his 
mind  a  picture  of  Chicago  Beautiful  years  ago  while  his  more 
commercial  contemporaries  were  engrossed  in  the  muck  and 
soot  and  grime  which  seemed  to  underlie  Chicago's  great  com- 
mercial development. 

Mr.  Burnham,  after  years  of  effort,  having  evolved  his  City 
Beautiful  plan,  met  his  first  great  obstacle  thereto  in  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  public  who  could  see  in  his  plan  only  the  dream  of 
an  idealist.  It  was  then  that  he  set  out  on  the  real  Titanic 
struggle  of  his  experience,  to  convert  strong  men  to  become 
burning  enthusiasts  of  his  view;  and  though  kindly  nature  did 
not  permit  him  to  look  upon  his  finished  work,  it  did  permit 
him  to  gather  about  him  a  band  of  co-workers  whose  power 
and  enthusiasm  enabled  him  plainly  to  foresee  in  the  fading 
twilight  of  his  closing  days,  his  artistic  dream  realized:  the 
new  civic  center  crowned  with  its  stately  columns  and  arches, 
the  great  east  and  west  artery  filled  with  the  busy  hustling 
Chicago  spirit,  the  lake  shore  reclaimed,  beset  with  alternate 
gems  of  verdant  green  and  marbled  white,  and  dotted  with  the 
merry-making  groups  of  Chicago's  happy,  chattering  thou- 
sands,—all  these  constituting  an  enduring  monument  to  his 
greatest  work  for  humanity. 

For  several  decades  past,  Chicago  has  vigorously  essayed 
from  time  to  time  to  recover  possession  of  her  lake  shore,  and 
during  all  this  time  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company, 
knowing  full  well  that  possession  is  equivalent  to  nine  points 
of  the  law,  quietly  proceeded  to  gather  within  its  corporate  ten- 
tacles the  entire  stretch  of  beach  from  Twelfth  Street  on  the 
north  to  Fifty-first  Street  on  the  south,  a  distance  of  approxi- 
mately four  and  a  half  miles.  The  aggressive  encroachment 
upon  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  that  characterized  the  policy 
of  the  railroad,  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  never 
abated  nor  ceased  the  progress  of  its  dynamic  force,  and  while 
good  citizens  protested  from  time  to  time,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
local  press  aroused  itself  semi-occasionally  to  an  expression  of 
righteous  indignation,  these  outbursts  ebbed  and  flowed  with 
the  advent  and  exit  of  the  seasons,  and  the  real  progress  of 
aggressive  corporate  acquisition  continued  until  the  railroad 
had  gathered  within  its  power  practically  the  entire  beach,  and 
deemed  itself  securely  entrenched  upon  the  lake  shore. 

This  condition  prevailed  when,  in  the  latter  part  of  1906  and 
early  in  1907,  a  little  band  of  Chicagoans  largely  recruited  from 
the  Commercial  Club,  appeared  on  the  scene  at  Springfield  and 
asked  the  legislature  of  the  sovereign  state  of  Illinois  to  give 
the  public,  through  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  the  right  to 


10 

take  tlie  lake  shore  for  park  purposes.  But  here  the  people 
learned  that  there  was  a  sinister  power  entrenched,  a  power  al- 
most overshadowing  the  legislature, — a  sovereign  railroad  inter- 
est which  had  to  be  reckoned  with;  and  so  it  came  to  pass  that 
when  the  bill  of  the  aforesaid  band  of  citizens  emerged  from 
the  legislative  mill  ready  for  the  governor's  signature,  it  had 
been  subjected  to  such  a  marvelous  transformation  that  it  now 
very  graciously  permitted  the  people,  through  the  Park  Com- 
missioners, to  take  for  the  benefit  of  the  public,  by  condemna- 
tion proceedings,  all  such  lands  on  the  lake  shore  as  belonged 
to  ''persons  non  sui  juris,  or  persons  unknown".*  As  practic- 
ally all  the  shore  lands  in  question  were  in  the  possession  of 
the  railroad  company,  and  no  part  thereof  belonged  to  "per- 
sons non  siii  juris,  or  persons  unknown,"  the  absurdity  of  the 
act  as  finally  passed  is  clearly  apparent.  The  emasculation  of 
this  bill  in  the  interest  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany, while  shamelessly  reprehensible  from  the  standpoint  of  a 
sovereign  people,  was  regarded  by  the  railroad  as  a  clever 
achievement  entitling  certain  of  its  faithful  lieutenants  to  hon- 
orable distinction  and  advancement. 

From  1851 1  down  to  1909,  despite  the  burning  editorials, 
from  time  to  time,  of  the  local  press,  and  the  spasmodic  efforts 
of  civic  and  commercial  bodies,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  still  deemed  itself  secure  in  the  possession  of  the  lake 
shore  and  refused  to  treat  w^ith  the  public  on  any  rational  basis 
for  relinquishment  of  its  claimed  shore  rights ;  so  that  the  Chi- 
nese wall  of  exclusion  of  the  public  from  the  lake  had  been  suc- 
cessfully raised  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street.  And 
even  l^eyond  Fifty-first  Street,  certain  individual  claimants, 
emulating  in  spirit,  if  not  in  degree,  the  rapacity  of  the  rail- 
road, seized  and  held  fast  to  all  the  lake  shore  as  far  south 
as  Jackson  Park;  and  in  Jackson  Park  the  trustees  of  the  pub- 
lic, not  to  be  outdone  by  their  neighbors  on  the  north,  formu- 
lated and  enforced  a  sort  of  local  lex  non  scripta  to  the  effect 
that  no  part  of  the  beach  in  Jackson  Park  could  be  used  for 
loathing  purposes,  establishing  a  complete  continuity  of  the 
aforesaid  wall  of  exclusion  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Seventy- 
fifth  Street,  a  distance  of  approximately  six  and  a  half  miles, 
and  wrongfully  and  cruelly  shutting  off  from  this  health-giving 
beach  and  natural  playground  Chicago's  romping  childhood  and 
vigorous  adolescence.  This  was,  in  short,  the  condition  of  the 
lake  shore  when,  in  the  spring  of  1909,  the  writer  was  first 
elected  to  the  City  Council. 

Tn  May,  1909,  shortly  after  the  writer's  election  to  the  City 

*See  Act  approved  May  2,  1907.  Sec.  1. 

tSee  Act  of  February  10,  1851,  Illinois  Central  Charter. 


11 

Council,  his  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  then  condition 
of  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  especially  that  portion 
thereof  lying  between  Jackson  Park  and  Grant  Park,  and  he 
thereupon  began  a  systematic  study  of  the  subject,  in  connec- 
tion with  his  regular  aldermanic  duties  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee on  bathing  beaches  and  recreation  piers. 

With  a  view  of  proceeding  intelligently  with  the  study  of 
this  subject,  the  writer  on  August  17,  1909,  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  Corporation  Counsel,  requesting  an  opinion  as  to  the  then 
ownership  of  sundry  portions  of  the  lake  shore,*  and  at  the 
same  time  efforts  were  made  to  arouse  interest  on  the  part  of 
the  South  Park  C*ommissioners,  for  the  purpose  of  having  such 
commissioners  proceed  to  acquire  title  by  compromise  or  agree- 
ment under  the  provisions  of  the  several  Acts  of  the  General 
Assembly  then  in  force. f 

After  repeated  efforts  to  accomplish  results  in  this  direc- 
tion, and  nothing  tangible  having  resulted  therefrom,  the  mat- 
ter was  finally  taken  up  for  consideration  with  the  Mayor,  as 
shown  by  the  following  correspondence : 

COMMUNICATION    WITH    MAYOR   BUSSE. 

September  25,   1909. 
Hon.  Fred  A.  Busse.  Mayor  of  Chicago. 

Dear  Sir:  Referring  to  a  recent  conversation  had  with  you  concerning 
certain  conditions  which  pertain  relative  to  sundry  submerged  lands  and  "made" 
lands  along  the  lake  shore  between  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River  and  Sev- 
enty-ninth Street,  the  writer  begs  to  invite  your  attention  to  the  following: 

You,  of  course,  are  advised  of  the  somewhat  unsettled  condition  of  the 
ownership  of  the  lake  frontage  caused  by  extensive  filling  in  from  time  to 
time  of  the  submerged  lands.  Large  areas  of  these  submerged  lands  have  been 
filled  in  and  are  now  in  process  of  being  filled  in  and  are  taken  possession  of 
by  private  parties  without  authority  of  law,  as  the  writer  believes,  and  day  by 
day,  week  by  week,  and  month  by  month,  these  aggressive  private  interests 
advance  further  and  further  into  and  over  the  waters  of  the  lake,  appropri- 
ating to  their  own  uses  the  common  heritage  of  the  people,  the  most  valuable, 
attractive  and  artistic  lake  water  frontage  ever  possessed  by  a  free  city. 

Between  Grant  Park  and  Twenty-second  Street,  between  Forty-seventh 
Street  and  Fifty-first  Street  and  between  Fifty-third  Street  and  Jackson  Park 
this  process  of  the  extension  of  private  dominion  over  the  natural  recreation 
beaches  and  playgrounds  of  the  city  goes  steadily,  rapidly  and  persistently  for- 
ward. These  aggressive  private  interests  never  slumber;  their  paid  agents 
and  attorneys  are  ever  on  the  alert  to  extend  their  jurisdiction  lakeward,  while 
in  the  meantime  the  public,  inactive  and  slothful,  its  representatives  ever  chang- 
ing by  the  change  in  political  administration,  sleeps  on  its  rights  and  the  peo- 
ple's heritage  pays  the  penalty. 

In  connection  with  the  work  of  the  Special  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches 
and  Amusement  Piers,  the  writer's  attention  was  first  directed  to  this  subject, 
and  as  a  member  of  such  committee,  and  with  the  consent  and  approval  of 
the  chairman  thereof,  the  writer,  with  a  view  of  bringing  some  order,  if  pos- 
sible, out  of  the  general  chaos  that  seemed  to  pertain  relative  to  the  lake  front, 


*See  Appendix  A. 

fAct  approved  May  14,  1903,  Act  approved  May  2,  1907.     See  report  of  Chi- 
cago Harbor  Commission,   1909,  Appendix  C. 


12 

addressed  a  letter  of  inquiry  to  the  Corporation  Counsel,  a  copy  of  which  letter, 
together  with  the  reply  thereto,  is  hereto  appended.* 

While  from  the  aforesaid  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel  it  would 
seem  that  title  to  the  submerged  lands  is  clearly  vested  in  the  State  or  in  the 
State's  grantee,  yet  by  reason  of  the  existing  riparian  rights  in  the  adjacent 
owners,  and  sundry  claims  asserted  over  lands  formed  by  accretion  or  other- 
wise, the  exact  legal  dividing  line  between  the  private  owner,  the  State,  the 
City  of  Chicago  and  the  South  Park  Board  is,  to  say  the  least,  sufficiently  ob- 
scure to  warrant  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  city  and  the  various  parties  in 
interest  to  get  together  and  to  make  a  proper,  final  and  definite  adjustment 
of  the  matter. 

As  a  question  of  practical  utility  it  is  probably  not  material  to  the  people 
as  a  whole  whether  the  legal  title  vests  in  the  State,  the  Park  Board  or  the 
City  of  Chicago,  so  long  as  the  title  so  vested  is  held  in  trust  for  all  the  people, 
and  so  long  as  the  party  so  holding  title  will  see  to  it  that  the  lake  front  is 
not  alienated,  or  encroached  upon  for  private  uses. 

The  lake  front  submerged  lands  should  not  be  sold,  bartered  or  given  away 
at  any  price.  No  sum  imaginable  can  compensate  the  people  for  the  loss  of 
these  lands  as  their  natural  playgrounds  and  bathing  beaches,  and  the  aggress- 
ive private  interests  which  have  from  time  to  time  asserted  dominion  over 
them  must  be  removed  therefrom. 

While  it  would  seem  from  the  aforesaid  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Coun- 
sel that  the  South  Park  Board  has  the  right  under  the  Acts  of  1903  and  1907 
to  acquire  title  to  and  possession  of  the  submerged  lands  between  Grant  Park 
and  Jackson  Park,  nothing  has  as  yet  been  done  by  said  park  board  toward  ac- 
quiring such  title;  so  that  it  is  entirely  proper  for  the  city,  as  representing  the 
whole  people,  to  take  the  initiative  and  either  acquire  title  by  condemnation 
proceedings  or  otherwise,  or  inspire  the  South  Park  Board  to  a  keener  con- 
ception of  its  opportunities  in  this  behalf. 

With  a  view  of  inspiring  some  action  toward  the  adjustment  of  these  mat- 
ters, the  writer  on  July  30  last  suggested  to  the  chairman  of  the  South  Park 
Board  the  appointment  of  a  joint  high  commission  composed  of  representatives 
from  the  South  Park  Board,  the  City  Council  and  sundry  others  in  interest,  to 
confer  with  commissioners  to  be  appointed  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railway 
Company  and  others  making  claim  to  the  lake  frontage,  in  the  hope  that  such 
commissioners  might  find  a  way  to  compel  the  early  settlement  of  the  dis- 
puted interests  involved.  Nothing,  however,  practical  resulted  from  the  fore- 
going suggestion. 

It  is  extremely  important  that  this  whole  matter  of  lake  frontage  be  set- 
tled at  the  earliest  date  feasible,  for  the  reason  that  it  appears  from  authentic 
sources  that  the  natural  filling  in  of  the  lake  frontage  resulting  from  the  dump- 
ing of  garbage  and  excavation  material  amounts,  approximately,  to  twenty 
acres  per  annum.  It  is  apparent  that  this  very  valuable  acquisition  of  made  land 
should  not  inure  to  the  benefit  of  private  parties,  but  should  be  converted  into 
park  areas,  bathing  beaches  and  pleasure  grounds  for  the  people  of  Chicago  and 
the  State  of  Illinois.  This  can  only  be  done  by  working  in  conformity  with  an 
intelligent  and  orderly  plan  based  upon  a  fixed  ownership  of  the  lake  shore 
frontage;  and  the  first  special  requisite  therefor,  as  preliminary  to  any  plan, 
is  the  settlement  and  adjustment  of  the  ownership  of  the  lake  shore. 

In  pursuance,  therefore,  of  the  cordial  interest  expressed  by  your  Honor  to 
the  writer  on  this  subject  and  your  hearty  willingness  to  urge  a  final  adjust- 
ment thereof,  I  beg  to  lay  the  whole  matter  before  you  for  such  action  or  rec- 
ommendation as  you  may  deem  expedient  and  wise  in  the  premises. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 

Mayor's  Office. 
Chicago,   September  27,  1909. 
To  the  Honorable,  the  City  Council. 

Gentlemen:  I  herewith  transmit  to  your  honorable  body  a  communica- 
tion from  Hon.  Theodore  K.  Long,  which  concerns  submerged  and  "made"  lands 


♦See  Opinion  of  Corporation  Counsel,  Appendix  A. 


13 

along  the  lake  shore  between  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River  and  Seventy-ninth 
Street,  together  with  an  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel,  addressed  to  the 
Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches  and  Recreation  Piers,  which  bears  on  the  afore- 
said subject,  also  a  letter  of  Alderman  Long  addressed  to  the  Corporation 
Counsel,  requesting  the  submission  of  the  opinion.* 

Inasmuch  as  it  appears,  both  from  the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel 
as  well  as  from  the  communication  of  Alderman  Long,  that  there  are  many- 
unlawful  encroachments  along  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  south  of  Twelfth 
Street,  one  conclusion  necessarily  follows:  Some  one  should  proceed  with  all 
possible  diligence  to  obtain  for  the  people  both  title  and  undisputed  possession 
to  the  land  which  belongs  to  them. 

Diversity  of  jurisdiction  should  not  stand  in  the  way  of  speedy  action. 
The  State  of  Illinois,  the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  City  of  Chicago 
should  unite  in  preserving  for  the  people  their  common  interest. 

Since  I  do  not  believe  that  formalities  should  retard  any  movement  which 
inures  to  the  public  benefit,  I  respectfully  request  that  you  authorize  the  Mayor 
to  invite  a  conference  consisting  of  representatives  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  of 
the  South  Park  Board,  the  Lincoln  Park  Board,  the  Sanitary  District  and  the 
City  of  Chicago,  who  shall  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  best 
method  of  procedure  for  the  reclamation  of  the  lands  in  which  each  representa- 
tive is,  in  a  measure,  interested,  and  which  have  been  appropriated  by  others. 
Such  a  conference  should  be  authorized  to  consider  the  advisability  of  a  settle- 
ment and  adjustment  of  the  claims  made  by  riparian  owners  along  the  lake  shore 
between  the  points  aforesaid. 

That  a  conference  of  this  character  can  materially  assist  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago in  its  plan  for  the  establishment  of  bathing  beaches  and  recreation  piers 
can  not  be  denied,  and  it  is  with  the  hope  that  the  sympathy  of  the  aforesaid 
authorities  is  with  Chicago  in  this  movement  that  I  submit  the  foregoing  prop- 
osition to  your  honorable  body. 

Respectfully, 

Fked  a.  Busse, 

Mayor. 

In  pursuance  of  the  foregoing,  the  City  Council  on  Septem- 
ber 27,  1909  (See  C.  P.  page  1157),  authorized  the  Mayor  to  in- 
vite representatives  to  a  conference,  as  suggested  in  his  com- 
munication. After  repeated,  unavailing  efforts  to  effectuate  re- 
sults in  this  manner,  owing  principally  to  petty  jealousies  and 
a  disinclination  on  the  part  of  the  different  authorities  to  take 
the  initiative,  it  was  concluded  by  the  writer  to  abandon  the 
conference  plan,  believing  that  more  substantial  progress  could 
be  made  by  the  commencement  of  legal  proceedings  against 
trespassing  shore  owners.  The  following  resolution  was,  there- 
fore, prepared  and  presented  to  the  City  Council  by  Theodore 
K.  Long,  January  25,  1910,  and  was  unanimously  adopted: 

RESOLUTION    BY    THE   CITY    COUNCIL. 

Whereas,  Sundry  private  interests  and  corporations  claim  ownership  to 
large  portions  of  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  between  Indiana  State  line  on 
the  south  and  Devon  Avenue  on  the  north;   and 

Whereas,  The  said  lake  shore  should  be  forever  held  by  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago or  by  the  several  park  boards  within  said  city,  in  trust  for  all  the  people, 
for  recreation  and  park  purposes; 

Resolved,  That  the  Mayor  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  appoint  a 
commission  of  three,  to  be  known  as  the  "Lake   Shore  Reclamation  Commis- 

♦For  letter  of  Alderman  Long  and  Opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel, 
see  Appendix  A. 


14 

sion,"  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  make  such  investigations  and  institute  and 
carry  on  such  proceedings  at  law  and  in  equity  as  in  the  judgment  of  said 
commission  may  be  deemed  necessary  or  advisable  to  procure  title  and  pos- 
session to  said  lake  shore  for  the  said  city  or  park  boards,  and  especially 
to  that  portion  thereof  lying  between  Jackson  Park  and  Grant  Park,  and  to 
report  its  proceedings  to  this  Council.     (Page  2786  C.  P.  1909-10.) 

In  accordance  with  the  foregoing  resohition,  the  Mayor 
appointed  as  said  commission,  Theodore  K.  Long,  Chairman, 
E.  J.  Brundage,  Corporation  Counsel,  and  Dr.  W.  A.  Evans, 
Health  Commissioner. 

The  above  commission,  immediately  after  its  appointment, 
set  to  work  to  procure  the  necessary  data  upon  which  to  base 
legal  action,  and  after  an  extended  preliminary  investigation 
and  repeated  conferences  held  between  the  representatives  of 
the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission,  the  office  of  the  Attor- 
ney-General and  the  office  of  the  State's  Attorney  of  Cook 
County,  suit  was  commenced  April  2,  1910,  in  the  Superior 
Court  of  Cook  County,  in  the  name  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  to 
recover  for  the  use  of  the  public  the  made  lands  at  Fifty-tirst 
Street  and  the  lake,  east  of  the  Beach  Hotel.  And  later,  May 
19,  1910,  six  additional  suits  were  commenced  in  the  same  court, 
the  purpose  of  these  suits  being  to  recover,  for  the  use  of  the 
public,  all  that  portion  of  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  betw^een 
Grant  Park,  on  the  north,  and  Jackson  Park,  on  the  south. 

The  said  suits  loaaj  be  briefly  described  as  follows:* 

(1)  People  V.  Jones  (Morgan  heirs)  and  the  Chicago 
Beach  Hotel,  involving  the  made  lands  immediately  north  of 
Fifty-first  Street  and  adjoining  the  city's  East  Enct  Park,  ag- 
gregating 7.91  acres. 

(2)  People  V.  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  Company,  involv- 
ing the  made  lands  between  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  on  the 
south  and  Grant  Park  on  the  north,  aggregating  approximately 
20.0  acres. 

(3)  People  V.  Lowden  (Pullman  heirs)  involving  the  made 
lands  immediately  south  of  and  adjacent  to  East  End  Park, 
amounting  to  about  .46  of  an  acre. 

(4)  People  V.  Jones  (Morgan  heirs),  involving  the  made 
lands  immediately  south  of  the  last  above  described  tract  of  the 
Pullman  heirs,  and  aggregating  approximately  1.22  acres. 

(5)  People  V.  Brega,  involving  the  made  lands  imme- 
diately south  of  the  last  above  described  tract  of  the  Morgan 
heirs,  and  aggregating  4.15  acres. 

(6)  People  V.  Shedd,  involving  the  made  lands  immediately 
south  of  the  last  above  described  tract,  and  aggregating  3.87 
acres. 

(7)  People  V.  Lehman,  involving  the  made  lands  imme- 

*For  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  proceedings  in  equity  see  Appendix  B. 


15 

diately  south  of  the  last  above  described  tract  of  the  Shedds, 
and  aggregating  1.59  acres. 

The  total  amount  of  made  land  involved  in  the  foregoing 
suits  was  approximately  38.3  acres,  which  at  a  valuation  of 
$50,000.00  per  acre  would  amount  to  $1,915,000  exclusive  of  the 
value  of  the  riparian  rights. 

It  is  estimated*  that  the  waste  street  and  excavation  mate- 
rial from  Chicago  amounts  annually  to  slightly  in  excess  of 
one  million  cubic  yards,  or  enough  to  fill  in  twenty  acres  of  made 
land,  building  the  same  seven  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  lake 
in  a  depth  of  twenty  feet  of  water ;  so  that  with  the  riparian  rights 
in  possession  of  the  public,  it  is  apparent  that  there  is  practic- 
ally no  limit  to  the  lands  that  may  be  made  and  reclaimed  for 
park,  playground,  bathing  beach  and  other  amusement  pur- 
poses. 


*See  Plan  of  Chicago,  page  50. 


16 


TEXT  OF  REPORT  PROPER. 

For  convenience  of  discussion  it  will  be  expedient  to  con- 
sider the  work  of  our  commission  under  four  principal  heads, 
as  follows: 

I.  The  lake  shore  immediately    north    of    Fifty-first    Street, 

known  as  the  Morgan,  or  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel,  claim. 

II.  The  lake  shore  extending  south  from  East  End  Park  at 
Fifty-second  Street  to  Jackson  Park  at  Fifty-fifth  Street, 
and  involving  five  separate  claims,  known  as  (1)  Pullman 
heirs,  (2)  Jones,  or  Morgan  heirs,  (3)  Brega,  (-4)  Shedd, 
and  (5) Lehman  claims,  respectively. 

III.  The  lake  shore  extending  from  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel 
at  Fifty-first  Street  to  Grant  Park,  a  distance  of  approx- 
imately four  and  a  half  miles,  and  known  principally  as  the 
claim  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

IV.  The  Calumet  District,  including  the  entire  shore  of  Lake 
Calumet  in  South  Chicago. 


THE    MOKGAN    CLAIM CHICAGO   BEACH    HOTEL. 

SUIT     COMMENCED — NEGOTIATIONS      FOR     A      SETTLEMENT — TENTATIVE     ADJUSTMENT 

BEFUSAL   OF   ATTORNEY   GENERAL    TO   CONFIRM    TENTATIVE   ADJUSTMENT — PREPARA- 
TION  OF   CASE   FOR   TRIAL. 

Shortly  after  filing  suit  in  this  case,  April  2,  1910,  the  de- 
fendants began  to  manifest  a  lively  interest  in  a  settlement,  and 
negotiations  were,  therefore,  opened  through  their  representa- 
tive, Mr.  Harrison  B,  Riley  of  the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Com- 
pany, and  Mr.  John  C.  Hately  and  Edwin  A.  Potter,  lessees  of 
the  Beach  Hotel  property. 

This  case  involved  the  right  of  the  city  to  utilize  Morgan 
Shoal  as  a  depository  for  city  waste,  and  as  the  city  was  de- 
sirous of  procuring  an  early  settlement  with  a  view  of  so  utiliz- 
ing Morgan  Shoal,  thereby  eventually  building  a  pleasure 
island  of  approximately  100  acres  between  Forty-seventh  and 
Fifty-first  Streets  extended,  said  island  to  be  connected  with 
Fifty-first  Street  by  an  ornamental  bridge  or  causeway,*  every 
reasonable  effort  was  made  to  effect  a  compromise  of  this  case, 
with  the  result  that  a  tentative  adjustment  was  effected  at  a 

*For  complete  detailed  plans  of  the  proposed  island  and  causeway,  see 
"Joint  Preliminary  Report  of  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches  and  Recreation 
Piers  and  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Committee"  of  December,  1910.  See 
also  Appendix  K. 


17 

conference  held  at  the  office  of  the  Corporation  Counsel,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1910,  at  which  were  present  E.  J.  Brundage,  Corporation 
Counsel,  Adolph  Traube,  Assistant  Corporation  Counsel,  C.  P. 
Gardner,  representing  the  Attorney-General  of  Illinois,  H.  P. 
Riley  of  the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company,  representing  the 
Morgan  heirs,  E.  A.  Potter  and  John  C.  Hately,  representing 
the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel,  and  Theodore  K.  Long,  representing 
the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission.  The  tentative  agree- 
ment was  subject  to  approval  by  the  Attorney-General,  who,  on 
October  28,  1910,  wrote  his  representative  in  Chicago,  refusing 
his  consent  thereto  for  sundry  reasons  recited,  to  the  effect  tliat 
the  approval  of  the  agreement  and  its  confirmation  by  the  court 
would  give  to  the  claimants  greater  rights  than,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Attorney-General,  they  were  entitled  to.  In  view  of  the 
opinion  of  the  Attorney-General,  the  city's  representatives 
abandoned  any  further  immediate  effort  looking  toward  an 
amicable  adjustment  of  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  case  and  be- 
gan a  diligent  and  exhaustive  preparation  of  the  case  for  trial. 
Of  the  several  cases  instituted  for  the  recovery  of  the  lake 
shore,  the  case  against  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  is  regarded  as 
the  most  favorable  to  the  city,  and  it  is  believed  by  those  who 
have  the  matter  in  charge,  that  unless  the  claimants  are  willing 
to  make  a  settlement  fair  to  the  public,  the  case  should  be 
vigorously  prosecuted  to  the  end.* 

II. 

THF.  LAKE  SHOEE  EXTENDING  SOUTH  FROM  EAST  END  PARK  TO  JACK- 
SON PARK  AND  INVOLVING  FIVE  SEPARATE  CLAIMS  KNOWN  AS  (1) 
PULLMAN,  (2)  JONES  OR  COLLINS,  (3)  BREGA,  (4)  SHEDD  AND  (5) 
LEHMAN  CLAIMS,  RESPECTIVELY. 

SUIT  COMMENCED — NEGOTIATIONS  FOR  SETTLEMENT — APPOINTMENT  OF  JOHN  BARTON 
PAYNE  AS  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSION  AND  RENEWAL  OF  NEGO- 
TIATIONS   FOR    SETTLEMENT PROPOSITION    OF    JUNE    23,     1911,    BY    HARRY    S.     ME- 

CARTNEY  FOR  THE  CLAIMANTS — CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  ATTORNEY  GENERAL  STEAD 
UNION  LEAGUE  CLUB  CONFERENCE  OF  SEPTEMBER  27,  1911 ATTORNEY  GEN- 
ERAL'S    LETTER     OF    OCTOBER    9,     1911,     SETTING    FORTH     HIS     DISSENTING     VIEWS 

CORRESPONDENCE  BETWEEN  JOHN  BARTON  PAYNE,  THEODORE  K.  LONG  AND  GOV- 
ERNOR   DENEEN,    RELATIVE    TO    ADDITIONAL    LEGISLATION ACT    APPROVED    JUNE    11, 

1912,  CONFERRING  GREATER  POWER  UPON  THE  PARK  COMMISSIONERS CONFER- 
ENCE   OF   JULY    9,    1912,    AT    OFFICE    OF    JOHN    BARTON    PAYNE FINAL    ADJUSTMENT 

OF    CERTAIN    CLAIMS. 

On  May  19,  1910,  six  additional  suits  were  commenced  as 
shown  above,  and  within  a  short  time  thereafter  the  five  claim- 
ants to  the  made  lands  between  East  End  Park  and  Jackson 
Park  took  up  with  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission  the 
question  of  an  amicable  adjustment.  Negotiations  dragged 
along  until  after  the  election  of  Mayor  Harrison  and  the  ap- 

*See  Appendix  J.    Letter  to  Corporation  Counsel  Sexton,  October  17,  1911. 


18 

pointment  of  John  Barton  Payne  as  Chairman  of  the  South 
Park  Commissioners, 

Earlyin  June,  1911,  the  writer  having  been  assured  that  he 
could  expect  the  cordial  support  and  co-operation  of  the  South 
Park  Commissioners,  as  then  constituted,  requested  from  the  at- 
torneys of  the  interested  parties  a  statement  of  their  views  as  a 
basis  for  consideration  in  a  proposed  amicable  adjustment, 
which  request  was  replied  to  as  follows : 

JOHN    MILTON    OLIVER.  HARRY    S.    MECARTNEY. 

OLIVER   &   MECARTNEY,   LAW   OFFICES, 

145  La  Salle  Street. 

New  No.,  9  S.  La  Salle  Street. 

Chicago,  June  23,  1911. 
Hon.   Theodore  K.  Long,  Chairman  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission, 
KimMrk  Ave.  d  iSth  St.,  Chicago. 

My  Dear  Sir:  In  answer  to  your  request  for  a  statement  of  the  sit- 
uation in  respect  to  the  controversy  over  the  lake  shore  lands  north  of 
Jackson  Park,  would  say  that  we  have  just  had  a  conference  in  our  office 
between  the  attorneys  and  representatives  of  the  various  property  owners 
representing  the  entire  property  and  frontage  east  of  Everett  Ave.  from 
East  Fifty-fourth  St.  to  East  Fifty-fifth  St.  or  Jackson  Park. 

After  thorough  conference  and  consideration  of  the  matter,  the  par- 
ties have  agreed  respectively  to  recommend  to  their  clients  the  following: 

1.  As  to  Block  3,  extending  from  Fifty-fifth  St.  to  Fifty-sixth  St.,  we 
think  an  arrangement  might  be  made  for  the  owners  by  which  the  following 
line  of  settlement  might  be  adopted  for  this  block,  viz.: 

A   line    running    due    north   and    south   lying    500    ft.    east   of   the 
easterly  line  of  Everett  Ave. 

2.  As  to  the  next  block  north,  running  from  old  Fifty-fourth  Place  ex- 
tended, to  Fifty-fifth  St.: 

A   line   running   due   north   and    south   lying   400   ft.   east   of   said 
easterly   line   of  Everett  Ave. 

3.  As  to  the  next  block  north,  from  Fifty-fourth  St.  to  Fifty-fourth 
Place: 

A   line   running   due   north   and   south   lying   175   ft.   east   of  said 
easterly  line  of  Everett  Ave.  extended. 

Mr.  Willis  Smith  represents  the  south  220  ft.  of  Block  3,  first  men- 
tioned above,  owned  by  the  Lehman  Estate; 

I  represent  the  north  part  or  remainder  of  said  block;  and 
Mr.  Perce  represents  the  two  blocks  north  of  this. 

Truly, 

Harry    S.   Mecartney. 

LAKE    SHORE    RECLAMATION    COMMISSION 
Of  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 
Theodore  K.  Long,  Chairman. 
Wm.   H.   Sexton,  G.   B.    Young, 

Corporation  Counsel.  Commissioner  of  Health. 

July  11,  1911. 
Mr.  Harry  S.  Mecartney,  No.  9  La  Salle  Street,  Chicago,  III. 

My  De.\r  Sir: — I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  yours  of  June 
23d  re  proposed  adjustment  of  lake  shore  suits  and  must  apologize  for  not 
having  given  you  an  earlier  reply.  I  will  say,  however,  that  I  have  not 
been  lacking  in  diligence  in  an  endeavor  to  procure  harmonious  action  on 
the  part  of  the  Attorney  General,  the  Corporation  Counsel  and  the  South 
Park  Board,  and  I  believe  that  I  will  be  able  to  present  to  you  something 
tangible   at  an   early   day. 

Thanking  you  for  your  courtesy  in  this  behalf,  I  beg  to  remain, 

Yours  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 


19 

After  tlie  receipt  of  the  foregoing  communication  from  Mr. 
Mecartney  several  conferences  were  held  resulting  in  a  tenta- 
tive agreement  at  a  luncheon  given  by  the  writer  at  the  Union 
League  Club,  July  13,  1911.* 

On  July  14,  1911,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  office  of  the 
Corporation  Counsel,  which  was  attended  by  representatives  of 
all  the  shore  owners  south  of  East  End  Park,  except  the  Pull- 
man tract,  and  a  tentative  agreement  for  a  settlement  of  the 
shore  line  was  effected,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Attorney- 
General  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners. 

The  following  correspondence  with  the  Attorney-General 
was  had  with  a  view  of  procuring  his  co-operation  to  any  plan 
or  scheme  that  might  be  agreed  upon  in  the  adjustment  of  the 
suits  in  question. 

4823  Kimbark  Avenue,  Chicago,  September  6,  1911. 
Hon.  W.  H.  Stead,  Attorney  General,  Springfield,  III. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Stead:  I  shall  esteem  it  a  favor  if  you  will  advise  me 
when  you  can  be  in  the  city  to  take  luncheon  with  the  writer,  Mayor  Har- 
rison, Judge  Payne,  Mr.  Sexton,  Mr.  Wayman  and  your  Mr.  Holt. 

I  am  desirous  of  having  you  meet  us  in  conference  in  connection  with 
the  lake  shore  suits.     I  shall  be  pleased  if  you  will  let  me  know  as  long 
in  advance  as  possible.     I  have  spoken  to  Mr.  Holt  about  this  matter,  but 
concluded  I  had  better  write  direct  to  you. 
With  personal  regards,  I  am, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 

W.  H.  Stead,  Attorney  General. 

STATE   OF   ILLINOIS, 
DEPARTMENT   OP   JUSTICE. 

Springfield,   September  7,   1911. 
Hon.  Theodore  K.  Long,  4823  Kimhark  Avenue,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Long:  I  have  your  esteemed  favor  of  the  6th  inst.,  and 
note  what  you  say.  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Holt  a  few  days  ago,  ad- 
vising me  of  the  desired  conference. 

I  wrote  Mr.  Holt  and  requested  him  to  say  to  you  that  I  had  no 
definite  knowledge  of  your  proposed  plan  and  to  ask  you  to  submit  the  es- 
sential features  of  the  plan  to  me  before  a  conference  is  arranged. 

I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Holt  advising  me  that  he  had  communi- 
cated with  you  in  accordance  with  my  request.     As  soon  as  I  hear  from 
you  I  will  be  glad  to  arrange  with  you  for  a  conference  at  an  early  date. 
With  personal  regards,  I  remain. 

Yours  very  truly, 

W.  H.  Stead, 
Attorney   General. 

4823  Kimbark  Avenue,  Chicago,  September  8,  1911. 
Hon.  W.  H.  Stead,  Attorney  General.  Springfield,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Stead:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  7th  inst.,  I  fear 
I  can  not  comply  with  your  request  "to  submit  the  essential  features  of 
the  plan,"  for  the  very  good  reason  that  we  have  no  definite  plan  at  this 
time,  and  it  is  principally  for  the  purpose  of  determining  upon  a  plan  that 
we  desire  to  confer  with  you.  We  have  had  several  tentative  propositions, 
but  we  are  in  no  position  to  trade  with  the  proponents  until   the   State, 

*For  more  detailed  report  of  the  proceedings  had  at  the  Union  League  Club 
luncheon  see  Appendix  D. 


20 

the   Park   Commission   and   the   City   first   agree   upon   some   general   plan 
of  adjustment. 

You  will  doubtless  recall  the  fact  that  when  we  filed  our  suits  we  had 
a  park  commission  to  contend  with,  which,  if  not  hostile,  was,  to  say  the 
least,  not  enthusiastically  friendly  to  us.  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  this  con- 
dition has  completely  changed,  and  the  new  president  of  the  Commission, 
Judge  Payne,  is  not  only  in  full  sympathy  with  our  effort  to  acquire  the 
shore,  but  will  actively  assist  us  in  every  way  possible. 

As  the  Commission,  under  the  terms  of  the  several  Acts  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  approved  May  14,  1903,  and  May  2,  1907,  respectively,  has 
been  given  extraordinary  powers  with  reference  to  the  lands  involved, 
and  as  this  Commission  is  now  friendly,  it  occurred  to  me  that  probably  a 
short  cut  might  be  taken  under  the  above  acts,  if  the  pending  suits  were 
withdrawn.  These,  among  others,  are  some  of  the  questions  that  I  would 
like  to  have  fully  discussed  in  the  presence  of  all  the  parties  in  interest 
on  the  side  of  the  public. 

I  trust,  therefore,  that  you  will  find  it  convenient  to  meet  with  us 
at  an  early  day. 

With  personal  regards,  I  beg  to  remain, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 

W.  H.  Stead,  Attorney  General. 

STATE   OP   ILLINOIS, 
DEPARTMENT   OP   JUSTICE. 

Springfield,    September    13,   1911. 
Hon.  Theodore  K.  Long,  4823  Kim'bark  Avenue,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Long:  On  my  return  this  morning,  I  find  your  letter  of 
the  8th  instant,  and  note  what  you  say.  I  can  meet  with  you  and  the  other 
gentlemen  named  at  any  time  that  will  suit  the  convenience  of  all  of  us. 

It  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  be  in  Chicago  on  September  20th,  21st, 
24th  or  25th.  So  far  as  I  am  now  advised,  I  can  be  there  upon  any  other 
date.  A  luncheon  at  the  Union  League  Club  will  be  entirely  agreeable 
to  me.  You  can  arrange  with  Mr.  Holt  as  to  the  date,  and  he  can  no- 
tify me. 

Very  respectfully, 

W.  H.  Stead, 
Attorney  General. 

4823  Kimbark  Avenue,  Chicago,   September  15,   1911. 
Hon.  W.  H.  Stead,  Attorney  General.  Springfield,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Stead:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  13th  inst.,  I  beg 
to  say  that  we  have  fixed  Priday,  the  22d  September,  12:30  p.  m.,  as  the 
time  for  our  conference  at  the  Union  League  Club,  Chicago.  Awaiting  the 
pleasure  of  your  company  at  that  time,  I  am. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 

The  conference  at  the  Union  League  Chib,  above  referred 
to,  was  attended  by  Mayor  Harrison,  John  Barton  Payne,  Chair- 
man of  South  Park  Commissioners,  John  E.  W.  Wayman,  Dis- 
trict Attorney,  William  H.  Sexton,  Corporation  Counsel,  Eobert 
N.  Holt,  Assistant  to  the  Attorney-General,  W.  H.  Stead,  At- 
torney-General, and  Theodore  K.  Long, 

The  Mecartney  proposition  of  June  23,  1911,  above,  slightly 
modified,  was  presented  to  the  conference  for  consideration.  It 
provided  for  the  cession  to  the  State  of  substantially  all  of  the 
shore  and  riparian  rights  from  East  End  Park  to  Jackson  Park, 


21 

making  what  was  deemed  an  equitable  division  of  the  made 
lands. 

The  proposition,  as  modified,  met  the  approval  of  all  at  the 
conference  except  the  Attorney-General,  whose  objections  were 
purely  technical  and  not  as  to  the  merits  of  the  proposed  ad- 
justment. His  views  are  best  set  forth  in  the  following  com- 
munication : 

W.  H.  Stead,  Attorney  General. 

STATE   OF   ILLINOIS, 
DEPARTMENT   OF   JUSTICE. 

Springfield,   October  9,   1911, 
Hon.  Theodore  K.  Long,  4823  Kimbark  Avenue,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

Dear  Sir:  We  have  carefully  considered  the  subject  matter  discussed 
in  our  recent  conference  held  at  the  Union  League  Club,  at  which  con- 
ference there  were  also  present  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  Counsel  of 
Chicago,  and  Judge  Payne,  of  the  South  Park  Board. 

At  that  conference  we  were  asked  to  consent,  for  and  on  behalf  of  the 
State  of  Illinois,  to  a  plan  whereby  the  made  lands  along  the  lake  shore, 
between  Jackson  Park  and  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel,  should  be  divided  and 
apportioned  between  the  shore  owners  (who  make  claim  to  title)  and  the 
South  Park  Board,  and  to  the  dismissal  of  the  eight  suits  now  pending, 
which  were  instituted  by  the  State  to  recover  said  made  lands. 

These  suits  were  instituted  by  us  upon  behalf  of  the  State,  at  the 
solicitation  and  request  of  Corporation  Counsel  Brundage  and  yourself. 
It  was  represented  to  us  that  these  lands  were  not  accretions,  but  were 
artificially  made  lands;  that  the  abutting  owners  had  constructed  piers 
and  breakwaters  into  Lake  Michigan,  by  means  whereof,  as  well  as  by 
other  means,  they  had  filled  in  the  bed  of  the  lake.  After  making  a  suffi- 
cient investigation  of  the  facts  to  satisfy  ourselves  that  these  representa- 
tions were  true,  we  began  the  suits. 

Since  the  suits  were  begun,  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  facts  and 
the  law  has  been  made  by  Hon.  Robert  N.  Holt,  who  has  been  specially 
employed  by  the  Attorney  General  to  prepare  and  try  the  submerged  land 
cases.  From  this  investigation,  as  well  as  the  investigations  made  by  our- 
selves, we  are  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  the  lands  involved  in  these 
suits,  or  at  least  the  greater  portion  of  the  lands,  are  artificially  made 
lands  and  belong  to  the  State  of  Illinois.  Our  understanding  is  that  the 
present  Mayor  of  Chicago  and  the  present  Corporation  Counsel,  as  well 
as  yourself,  are  also  of  this  opinion. 

From  an  examination  of  the  so-called  park  acts,  it  appears  to  us  that 
the  Legislature  of  Illinois  never  granted,  nor  intended  to  grant,  to  the 
South  Park  Board  any  of  these  made  lands.  The  Park  Acts  clearly  dis- 
tinguish between  "made  lands"  and  "submerged  lands." 

The  plan  proposed  by  you  for  the  division  and  disposition  of  these 
made  lands,  as  we  understand  it,  is,  in  substance,  that  a  division  line  be 
agreed  upon  between  the  shore  owners  (who  make  claim  to  the  lands) 
and  the  South  Park  Board,  the  shore  owners  to  take  all  of  the  made 
lands  west  of  the  division  line,  and  the  South  Park  Board  to  take  all  of 
the  made  lands  east  of  the  division  line,  and  the  shore  owners  to  open 
certain  streets  through  the  made  lands  taken  by  them;  that  said  plan  or 
agreement  be  incorporated  in  a  decree  to  be  entered  in  a  suit  to  be  in- 
stituted by  the  shore  owners  against  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  un- 
der the  .Park  Acts,  and  upon  the  entry  of 'said  decree,  the  eight  suits  insti- 
tuted by  us  upon  behalf  of  the  State  be  dismissed. 

The  only  theory  upon  which  we  would  be  justified  in  dismissing  or 
abandoning  these  suits,  or  any  of  them,  would  be  that  we  were  of  the  opinion 
that  the  lands  involved  therein  did  not  belong  to  the  State  of  Illinois.  As 
above  stated,  we  are  not  of  this  opinion.  Furthermore,  the  plan  proposed  is 
not  based  upon  any  such  theory.     It  is  based  upon  the  theory  that  the  State 


22 

is  the  owner  of  the  lands  involved  in  these  suits,  or  at  least  the  greater  por- 
tion thereof,  and  because  of  such  ownership,  the  South  Park  Board  and  the 
City  will  be  able  to  induce  the  shore  owners  to  surrender  to  the  South  Park 
Board  a  portion  of  these  made  lands  and  to  dedicate  certain  portions  of  the 
remainder  to  the  City  of  Chicago  for  street  purposes. 

The  plan  proposed  does  not  in  any  way  provide  for  compensation  to 
the  State  of  Illinois  for  said  lands,  and  even  if  it  did,  it  is  not  within  the 
power  of  the  Attorney  General  or  the  State's  Attorney  of  Cook  County,  or 
of  both  of  them,  to  make  a  binding  contract  for  the  disposition  of  State 
lands,  such  power  residing  exclusively  in  the  Legislature. 

After  giving  this  matter  the  most  earnest  and  thorough  consideration 
possible  under  the  circumstances,  we  are  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  we 
have  no  authority  whatever  to  consent  to  the  proposed  plan.  We  are  fur- 
thermore of  the  opinion  that  any  consent  given  by  us  to  said  proposed  plan 
would  be  absolutely  of  no  avail  either  to  the  shore  owners  or  to  the  Park 
Board.  It  would  be  liable  to  attack  at  any  future  time  by  the  State  and 
would  only  postpone  the  settlement  of  the  difficulties  which  exist  relative 
to  these  lands. 

We  shall  be  pleased  to  confer  with  you  or  the  Mayor  of  Chicago  or 
the  Corporation  Counsel  or  the  South  Park  Board  or  all  of  you  at  any  time, 
and  will  gladly  consider  any  suggestions  that  you  have  to  make. 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

W.    H.    Stead, 

Attorney  General. 
John    E.    Wayman, 
State's  Attorney  of  Cook  County. 

FRENCH  LICK   SPRINGS   HOTEL. 

French   Lick,   Ino.,   October   11,   1911. 
Hon.  W.  H.  Stead,  Attorney  General,  Springfield,  Illinois. 

Dear  Mr.  Stead:  I  beg  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the 
9th  inst.,  forwarded  to  me  here,  and  thank  you  for  the  very  exhaustive 
manner  in  which  you  have  discussed  the  lake  shore  matter.  While  I  quite 
agree  with  you  in  your  construction  of  the  law,  I  had  hoped  that  some  way 
might  be  found  by  which  we  could  acquire  for  the  use  of  the  public  these 
much  needed  shore  lands. 

Possibly  we  might  agree  upon  a  decree  to  be  entered  tentatively,  sub- 
ject to  future  ratification  by  the  Legislature.  However,  I  will  take  this 
matter  up,  upon  my  return  home,  with  my  associates  and  will  advise  you 
later  of  our  conclusions. 

Again  thanking  you,  and  with  personal  regards,  I  beg  to  remain, 

Yours  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 

After  further  consideration  of  the  Attorney-General's 
opinion  it  was  deemed  best  to  procure  an  amendment  to  the  law 
under  which  the  park  authorities  were  proceeding.  The  writer, 
therefore,  addressed  a  letter  to  Judge  Payne,  Chairman  of  the 
South  Park  Commissioners,  suggesting-  that  he  forward  a  letter 
to  Governor  Deneen,  requesting  him  to  include  in  his  contem- 
plated call  for  an  extra  session  of  the  State  Legislature,  le.gis- 
lation  empowering  the  park  commissioners  to  settle,  by  private 
agreement,  with  the  claimants  of  made  lands,  so  as  to  cover  the 
objections  raised  by  the  Attorney  General  in  his  communication 
of  October  9,  and  to  enable  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the  shore 
claims  between  East  End  Park  and  Jackson  Park.  The 
writer's  suggestion  to  Judge  Payne  was  replied  to  as  follows: 


23 

SOUTH    PARK   COMMISSIONERS,  COMMISSIONERS: 

57tli  St.  and  Cottage  Grove  Ave.  Charles  L.   Hutchinson, 

Joseph  Donnersberger. 
Edward  Tilden. 
John  Barton  Payne. 
Henry  D.  Foreman. 

Chicago,  November  24,  1911. 
Alderman  Theodore  K.  Long,  4823  Kimbark  Avenue,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Alderman:     I  have  written  the  Governor  as  suggested,  and 
beg  to  enclose  copy  of  the  letter  herewith. 

We   will   watch   the  matter,   and   if  the   call   becomes   imminent,   will 
take  such  further  steps  as  may  be  necessary.  « 

Yours  very  truly, 

John  Barton  Payne, 

President. 


SOUTH   PARK   COMMISSIONERS,  COMMISSIONERS: 

57th  St.  and  Cottage  Grove  Ave.  Charles  L.   Hutchinson. 

Joseph  Donnersberger. 
Edward  Tilden. 
John   Barton   Payne. 
Henry  G.  Foreman. 

Chicago,  November  24,  1911. 
Governor  Charles  S.  Deneen,  Springfield,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Governor:  The  South  Park  Board  is  endeavoring  to  secure 
title  to  the  riparian  rights  for  the  public  from  Grant  Park  south  and  has 
active  negotiations  on  with  the  Illinois  Central  and  other  riparian  own- 
ers.    We  are  met  by  two  difficulties: 

1.  The  question  as  to  whether  the  South  Park  Board  under  existing 
legislation  has  the  same  power  to  acquire  submerged  land  as  now  exists 
to  acquire  riparian  rights. 

2.  The  right  to  condemn  riparian  rights  for  park  purposes  does  not 
now  seem  to  exist. 

3.  If  you  should  call  a  special  session  of  the  Legislature  for  any 
purpose,  we  would  like  very  much  to  have  you  include  these  two  objects 
in  the  call.  If  you  want  detailed  information  covering  the  situation  I  will 
be  very  glad  to  furnish  the  same  to  you  at  any  time.  The  request,  I  am 
sure,  will  be  joined  in  by  the  city  and  the  Illinois  Central  should  it  become 
necessary. 

Yours  very  truly, 

John  Barton  Payne, 

President. 

Upon  receipt  of  the  foregoing  letter  from  Judge  Payne, 
enclosing  copy  of  his  letter  to  the  Governor,  the  writer  ad- 
dressed a  second  letter  to  Judge  Payne  suggesting  that  in  his 
opinion  the  latter 's  letter  of  the  24tli  of  November  to  the 
Governor  did  not  fully  cover  the  point  raised  by  the  Attorney- 
General,  and  suggesting  further  that  he  again  write  the  Gov- 
ernor, specifically  calling  his  attention  to  the  necessity  of  legis- 
lation covering  the  subject  of  made  lands. 

In  response  to  the  writer's  second  letter  the  following  com- 
munication and  enclosure  were  received : 


24 


SOUTH    PARK   COMMISSIONERS,  COMMISSIONERS: 

57th  St.  and  Cottage  Grove  Ave.  Charles   L.   Hutchinson. 

.  Joseph  Donnersberger. 
Edward  Tilden. 
John   Barton   Payne. 
Henry  G.  Foreman. 

Chicago,  November  29,  1911. 

Hon.   Theodore  K.  Long,  Chairman  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission, 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Alderman:      I  beg  to  thank  you  for  your  kind  favor  of  the 
27th  instant,  and  to  enclose  copy  of  my  letter  to  Governor  Deneen. 

Yours  very  truly, 

John  Barton  Payne, 

President. 


SOUTH    PARK   COMMISSIONERS,  COMMISSIONERS: 

57th  St.  and  Cottage  Grove  Ave.  Charles   L.   Hutchinson. 

Joseph  Donnersberger. 
Edward  Tilden. 
John   Barton   Payne. 
Henry  G.  Foreman. 

Chicago,  November  29,  1911. 

Governor  Charles  S.  Deneen,  Springfield,  Illinois. 

Dear  Governor:  I  beg  to  enclose  a  letter  from  Alderman  Theodore 
K.  Long,  Chairman  of  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission  of  the 
City  of  Chicago,  suggesting  that  in  my  letter  to  you  I  had  omitted  to  cover 
the  subject  of  made  lands.  There  are  some  lands  along  the  lake  shore  as  to 
which  a  controversy  is  now  pending  between  the  shore  owners  and  the 
State,  and  it  may  be  that  the  Park  Board,  by  an  arrangement  with  the 
state  authorities,  might  desire  to  acquire  some  of  the  made  lands. 

I,  therefore,  suggest  that  when  you  come  to  consider  the  matter  that 
you  make  the  call  sulflciently  comprehensive  to  cover  every  phase  of  the 
subject.* 

Kindest  regards. 

Yours  very  truly, 

John  Barton  Payne, 

President. 


The  writer  also  requested  the  Corporation  Counsel  to  pre- 
pare a  proper  bill  amending  the  Park  Acts  so  as  to  cover  the 
points  raised  by  the  Attorney-General  in  his  letter  of  October 
9,  above,  in  pursuance  of  which  request  a  bill  was  prepared  and, 
after  slight  amendments,  was  passed  and  became  a  law  as  fol- 
lows: 

an  act  to  amend  an  act,  etc. 

Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  ty  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  represented 
in  the  General  Assembly:  That  an  Act  entitled,  "An  Act  to  enable  park  com- 
missioners having  control  of  a  park  or  parks  bordering  upon  public  waters 
in  this  State,  to  enlarge  and  connect  the  same  from  time  to  time  by  exten- 
sions over  lands  and  the  bed  of  such  waters,  and  defining  the  use  which  may 
be  made   of   such   extensions,   and   granting   submerged   lands    for   the   purpose 


*In  February,  1912,  the  City  Council  supplemented  the  request  of 
Judge  Payne  to  the  Governor  by  the  passage  of  a  resolution  calling  on 
the  Governor  to  convene  a  special  session  of  the  General  Assembly.  See 
Appendix  C. 


25 

of  such  enlargements,"  approved  May  14,   1903,   in   force  July   1,  1903,  be  and 
the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

§  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  represented  in  the 
General  Assembly:  That  every  board  of  park  commissioners  existing  under 
the  laws  of  this  State,  which  has  now,  or  may  hereafter  have,  or  acquire, 
control  over  any  public  park,  boulevard  or  driveway,  bordering  upon  any  public 
waters  in  this  State,  shall  have  the  power  to  extend  such  park,  boulevard  or 
driveway  over  and  upon  the  bed  of  such  public  waters,  and  that  every  board 
of  park  commissioners  existing  under  the  laws  of  this  State,  which  now  has, 
or  may  hereafter  have,  or  acquire,  control  over  two  or  more  separate  public 
parks,  whether  they  constitute  a  part  of  one  park  system  or  not,  bordering 
upon  any  public  waters  in  this  State,  shall  have  power  to  connect  the  same 
by  constructing  a  park,  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway,  extending  over  and 
upon  the  submerged  land  and  bed  of  such  public  waters,  and  over  and  upon 
any  lands  adjacent  to  or  adjoining  upon  or  penetrating  into  such  waters,  and 
may  extend  any  such  park  by  constructing  a  park,  boulevard,  driveway  or 
parkway  over  any  private  property,  and  over  any  navigable  river  or  any  part 
thereof  which  lies  within  the  territory,  the  property  of  which  shall  be  taxable 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  park  under  the  control  of  said  board  of  park  com- 
missioners, so  as  to  connect  such  park,  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway  with 
any  park,  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway  now  or  hereafter  constructed,  and 
connected  with  or  forming  a  part  of  any  other  park  system;  and  in  extending 
such  park  or  in  constructing  such  park,  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway,  the 
said  board  of  park  commissioners  may  construct  such  viaducts,  bridges  or 
tunnels,  or  parts  of  viaducts,  bridges  or  tunnels,  within  its  said  territory  as 
to  it  may  seem  necessary,  and  that  every  such  board  of  park  commissioners  may 
acquire  the  lands,  or  the  riparian  or  other  rights  of  the  owners  of  lands,  or  both, 
whether  of  individuals  or  corporations,  on  the  shores  adjacent  to  or  adjoining 
the  public  waters  or  rivers  in  which  it  is  proposed  to  construct  any  such  park, 
boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway,  or  extension  or  connection,  also  the  title  of  the 
private  or  public  owners,  if  any  there  be,  to  lands  lying  beneath,  adjacent  to  or 
adjoining  such  public  waters  or  rivers,  also  the  title  of  any  lands,  penetrating 
into  such  public  waters,  and  the  title  of  any  lands  into,  upon  or  over  which  it 
is  proposed  to  construct  any  such  park,  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway  or  any 
such  extension  or  connection,  or  any  viaduct,  bridge  or  tunnel  forming  a  part 
thereof,  by  contract  with  or  deed  from  any  such  owner  or  owners,  whether  indi- 
viduals or  corporations,  or  by  condemnation:  Provided,  hoivever,  that  no  exten- 
sion which  shall  be  made  shall  interfere  with  the  practical  navigation  of  such 
public  waters  or  rivers  for  the  purposes  of  commerce,  without  due  authority 
from  the  proper  official  of  the  United  States  government  having  control  thereof. 
Said  board  of  park  commissionei's  and  said  riparian  or  adjacent  owners  are 
hereby  authorized  to  agree  upon  a  boundary  line  dividing  such  adjacent,  adjoin- 
ing, submerged  and  penetrating  lands,  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  by  said  board 
of  park  commissioners,  and  such  adjacent,  adjoining,  submerged  and  penetrating 
lands  to  be  taken,  owned  and  used  by  said  riparian  or  other  owners  in  lieu  of 
and  as  compensation  for  the  release  of  said  lands  and  riparian  rights  to  said 
board  of  park  commissioners.  In  case  said  board  of  park  commissioners  are 
unable  to  agree  with  and  [any]  such  owner  or  owners  or  persons  interested, 
either  as  to  such  boundary  or  dividing  line  and  such  lands  to  be  taken  by  such 
riparian  or  other  owners  and  persons  interested  as  compensation  for  the  release 
and  granting  of  said  lands  and  riparian  or  other  rights,  or  in  case  the  compen- 
sation to  be  paid  for  or  in  respect  of  the  property,  riparian  or  other  rights,  the 
adjacent,  adjoining,  submerged  and  penetrating  or  other  lands  sought  to  be 
appropriated  or  damaged  for  the  purposes  mentioned  in  this  Act,  cannot  be 
agreed  upon  by  the  parties  interested,  or  in  case  the  owner  of  the  property  is 
incapable  of  consenting,  or  his  name  or  residence  is  unknown,  or  he  is  a  non- 
resident of  the  State,  or  if,  in  any  event,  the  said  board  of  park  commissioners 
shall  elect  to  acquire  the  riparian  or  other  rights,  or  the  adjacent,  adjoining, 
submerged  and  penetrating  or  other  lands,  or  any  such  rights  or  lands,  pro- 
ceedings may  be  had  to  condemn  the  said  riparian  or  oth.er  rights  and  the  said 
adjacent,  adjoining,  submerged  and  penetrating  or  other  lands,  or  any  of  them 
according  to  the  provisions  of  an  Act  entitled,  "An  Act  to  provide  for  the  exercise 


26 

of  the  right  of  eminent  domain,"  approved  April  10,  1872,  in  force  July  1,  1872, 
and  amendments  thereto. 

§  1-a.  The  fact  that  any  individual,  corporation,  or  other  person  shall  be 
made  a  party  defendant  to  any  such  condemnation  proceedings  hereby  author- 
ized, shall  not  establish  any  presumption  as  to  the  validity  or  the  extent  of  the 
title  of  such  defendant,  but  before  damages  shall  be  assessed  to  any  such 
defendant,  the  court  shall  first  find  and  adjudge  the  right,  title,  and  interest  of 
such  defendant  in  the  property  sought  to  be  taken  or  damaged,  and  through 
such  condemnation  proceeding  the  said  board  of  park  commissioners  shall 
acquire  whatever  right,  title,  interest  or  claim  such  defendant  may  have. 

§  2.  In  all  cases  in  which  said  board  of  park  commissioners  shall  have 
acquired,  or  contracted  to  acquire  the  riparian  rights  of  the  owners  of  any 
lands  along  the  shore  adjoining  such  public  watei's  or  rivers,  or  shall  have 
acquired  or  contracted  to  acquire  lands  owned  or  claimed  by  such  owners,  and 
shall  have  agreed  upon  the  dividing  line  aforesaid,  said  board  of  park  commis- 
sioners shall  file  petitions  or  bills  in  chancery  on  the  chancery  side  of  the  circuit 
court  of  the  county  in  which  said  lands  are  situated,  praying  that  the  boundary 
line  between  the  lands  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  by  the  defendants  in  said  suit 
and  the  lands  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  by  the  said  board  of  park  commission- 
ers, under  this  Act  and  under  such  contract  or  contracts,  may  be  established 
and  confirmed  by  the  decree  of  said  court,  as  agreed  upon  by  said  parties,  to 
which  bills  or  petitions  all  persons  interested  in  said  riparian  rights  and  lands 
as  owners  or  otherwise  as  appearing  of  record,  if  known,  or  if  not  known, 
stating  that  fact,  shall  be  made  defendants.  Persons  interested,  whose  names 
are  unknown,  may  be  made  parties  defendant  by  the  description  of  the  unknown 
owners;  but  in  all  such  cases,  an  affidavit  shall  be  filed  by  or  on  behalf  of  the 
petitioner  or  complainant,  setting  forth  that  the  names  of  such  persons  are 
unknown;  said  board  of  park  commissioners  shall  also  give  public  notice  of 
the  filing  of  each  such  bill  or  petition  by  publication  thereof  once  a  week  for 
four  consecutive  weeks  in  a  newspaper  of  general  circulation  regularly  pub- 
lished in  the  city  in  which,  or  nearest  to  which,  said  riparian  rights  or  lands 
are  situated,  which  notice  shall  contain  the  title  of  the  suit  and  the  term  of 
court  at  which  it  is  made  returnable,  the  last  of  which  notices  shall  be  published 
not  less  than  ten  (10)  days  or  more  than  twenty  (20)  days  before  the  first  day 
of  the  term  of  court  in  which  said  suit  is  returnable.  The  defendants  who  do 
not  enter  their  appearance  shall  be  served  with  process  in  the  suits  so  instituted 
in  the  same  manner  as  in  suits  in  chancery,  and  the  proceedings  in  said  cause 
shall  be  conducted  in  the  same  manner  as  in  other  suits  in  chancery.  Any  legal 
voter  or  taxpayer  within  the  district  or  territory  in  which  the  property  shall 
be  taxable  for  the  maintenance  of  the  park  system  under  the  control  of  such 
board  of  park  commissioners,  shall  be  permitted  to  enter  his  appearance  and 
become  a  party  defendant  in  said  proceedings,  and  demur,  plead  or  answer  to 
said  bill  or  petition.  If,  upon  a  hearing,  the  court  shall  find  that  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  public  have  been  duly  conserved  in  and  by  such  agreement,  then 
the  court  shall  confirm  said  agreement  and  establish  such  boundary  line;  other- 
wise, the  court  shall,  in  its  discretion,  dismiss  such  bill  or  petition.  If  the 
dividing  line  agreed  upon  shall  be  so  established  and  confirmed  by  the  decree 
or  judgment  of  the  said  court,  it  shall  thereafter  be  the  permanent  dividing  and 
boundary  line  of  said  lands,  and  shall  not  be  affected  or  changed  thereafter, 
either  by  accretions  or  erosions;  and  the  owners  of  said  shore  lands  are  hereby 
granted  by  the  State  of  Illinois  the  title  to  the  adjacent,  adjoining,  submerged, 
penetrating  and  other  lands,  whether  of  natural  or  artificial  formation,  lying 
upon  the  inner  or  land  side  of  said  boundary  line  when  so  established,  and  they 
shall  have  the  right  to  fill  in,  improve,  protect,  use  for  all  lawful  purposes,  sell 
and  convey  said  submerged  or  other  lands  up  to  the  line  so  established,  free 
from  any  adverse  claim  in  any  way  arising  out  of  any  question  as  to  where  the 
shore  line  was  at  any  time  in  the  past,  or  as  to  the  title  to  any  existing  accre- 
tions, and  said  board  of  park  commissioners  is  hereby  granted  by  the  State  of 
Illinois  the  title  for  park  purposes  to  the  adjacent,  adjoining,  submerged,  pene- 
trating, artificially  made  and  other  lands  lying  upon  the  outer  or  water  side  of 
the  said  boundary  line  and  opposite  and  adjoining  to  the  lands  granted  and 
confirmed  by  said  decree  to  said  riparian,  shore  or  other  owners.    It  shall  be  the 


27 

duty  of  the  Attorney  General  to  appear  in  such  proceeding  and  assert  the  claim 
of  the  State  of  Illinois,  if  any,  as  to  any  lands  involved  in  such  proceeding, 
which  have  been  improperly  taken,  made  or  occupied,  and  the  court  shall  proceed 
to  hear  and  determine  such  claim  in  said  proceeding.  If  it  shall  be  found  that 
any  land  has  been  wrongfully  taken,  made  or  occupied,  to  which  the  State  of 
Illinois  can  assert  title,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  court  to  enter  a  judgment 
requiring  proper  compensation  to  be  made  by  the  person  or  persons  or  corpora- 
tion taking,  making  or  occupying  such  lands,  or  in  lieu  thereof,  to  vacate  the 
same,  and  such  compensation  and  the  claim  of  the  Attorney  General  shall  be 
determined  before  any  such  agreement  between  any  park  board  and  the  said 
alleged  owners  of  such  lands  shall  in  any  way  become  effective.  The  Attorney 
General  shall  have  the  right,  upon  behalf  of  the  state,  with  the  approval  of  the 
court,  to  compromise  any  claim  which  the  State  of  Illinois  may  assert  upon 
such  terms  as  shall  be  just  and  equitable  to  the  State  of  Illinois.  The  court  shall 
require  notice  of  the  pendency  of  such  proceeding  to  be  given  to  the  Attorney 
General,  and  before  any  decree  shall  be  entered  in  such  proceeding,  proof  shall 
be  made  that  such  notice  has  been  given. 

§  3.  Such  board  of  park  commissioners  shall  have  the  power  to  pay  for 
any  such  rights,  lands  or  territory,  thus  acquired,  and  for  the  construction  and 
protection  of  such  park,  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway,  or  such  extension  or 
connection,  either  out  of  its  general  revenues  or  by  the  issue  and  sale,  from 
time  to  time,  of  interest-bearing  bonds,  in  addition  to  the  bonds  now  authorized 
by  law  to  be  issued  and  sold  by  such  board  of  park  commissioners:  Provided, 
no  bonds  shall  be  issued  under  this  Act  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  Section  12, 
Article  IX,  of  the  Constitution  of  this  State:  And,  provided,  further,  that  the 
proposition  to  issue  such  bonds  shall  first  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  legal 
voters  of  such  park  district  and  shall  receive  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  upon 
such  proposition.  And  authority  is  hereby  expressly  granted  to  the  board  of 
park  commissioners  issuing  such  bonds  to  levy  and  collect  a  direct  annual  tax 
upon  the  property  within  their  jurisdiction,  in  addition  to  the  amount  of  any 
tax  now  authorized  by  law  to  be  levied  and  collected  by  them,  sufficient  to  pay 
the  interest  on  said  bonds  as  it  falls  due,  and  also  to  pay  and  discharge  the 
principal  thereof  within  twenty  (20)  years  from  the  date  of  issuing  said  bonds; 
and  the  county  clerk  of  the  county  in  which  such  park  district  is  located,  or 
such  other  officer  or  officers  as  are  by  law  authorized  to  spread  or  assess  taxes 
for  park  purposes,  shall,  on  receiving  a  certificate  from  such  board  of  park 
commissioners  that  the  amount  mentioned  in  such  certificate  is  necessary  to  pay 
the  interest  on  said  bonds  and  also  to  pay  and  discharge  the  principal  thereof 
within  twenty  (20)  years  from  the  date  of  issuing  said  bonds,  spread  and  assess 
such  amount  upon  the  taxable  property  embraced  in  said  park  district  the  same 
as  other  park  taxes  are  by  law  spread  and  assessed,  and  the  same  shall  be 
collected  and  paid  over  the  same  as  other  park  taxes  are  required  by  law  to 
be  collected  and  paid. 

§  4.  The  title  to  any  such  extension  or  connection  of  such  park  or  parks, 
boulevards,  driveways  and  parkways,  and  to  the  bed  thereof,  shall  be,  and 
thereby  becomes  vested  in  such  board  of  park  commissioners  for  public  purposes, 
and  the  same  shall  thereby  become  a  part  of  the  public  park  or  parks  under  the 
control  of  such  board,  and  shall  thenceforth  be  maintained  and  controlled  by 
such  board  in  the  manner  provided  by  law,  for  the  government  and  maintenance 
of  other  parks,  boulevards  and  driveways  under  its  control,  and  in  all  cases 
where  any  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway  is  extended  or  constructed,  under 
the  provisions  of  this  Act,  the  title  to  the  submerged  lands  lying  between  the 
shore  of  such  public  waters  and  the  inner  line  of  the  extension  of  such  boulevard, 
driveway  or  parkway,  shall  be,  and  thereby  becomes  vested  in  such  board  of  park 
commissioners  for  public  purposes;  and  in  case  any  such  park,  boulevard,  drive- 
way or  parkway,  extension  or  connection  as  provided  in  this  Act,  shall  b«  made 
into,  over  or  upon  the  bed  of  Lake  Michigan  by  any  such  board  of  park  com- 
missioners, then  the  right,  title  and  interest  of  the  State  of  Illinois  in  and  to 
the  bed  of  so  much  of  said  Lake  Michigan  shall  be  vested  in  such  board  of  park 
commissioners  as  in  other  cases  provided  in  this  Act,  and  for  the  same  purposes 
and  with  the  same  rights  and  power. 

§  5.     No  such  board  of  park  commissioners  shall  be  hereby  authorized  to 


28 

extend  any  of  its  park  or  boulevard  system  outside  of  or  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  district  or  territory,  the  property  of  which  shall  be  taxable  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  parks  under  the  control  of  such  board  of  park  commissioners,  except 
into,  over  and  upon  public  waters  or  rivers  adjoining  or  being  a  part  of  such 
district. 

§  6.  The  powers  granted  by  this  Act  to  any  board  of  park  commissioners 
shall  not  be  construed  to  have  been  exhausted  by  any  one  use  of  the  same,  but 
said  commissioners  may,  from  time  to  time,  proceed  with  further  enlargements 
or  extensions:  Provided,  however,  that  all  such  enlargements  or  extensions  lie 
within  the  district  or  territory,  the  property  in  which  shall  be  taxable  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  park  systems  under  the  control  of  such  board  of  park  com- 
missioners, or  within  public  waters  or  rivers  adjoining  or  being  a  part  of  such 
district  or  territory. 

§  7.  That  the  title  of  said  Act  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read 
as  follows:  "An  Act  to  enable  park  commissioners  having  control  of  a  park 
or  parks  bordering  upon  public  waters  in  this  State,  to  enlarge  and  connect  the 
same  from  time  to  time  by  extensions  over  lands  and  the  bed  of  such  waters, 
and  defining  the  use  which  may  be  made  of  such  extensions,  and  granting  lands 
for  the  purpose  of  such  enlargements." 

§  8.  The  following  Act  is  hereby  repealed:  An  Act  entitled,  "An  Act 
authorizing  park  commissioners  to  acquire  and  improve  submerged  and  shore 
lands  for  park  purposes,  providing  for  the  payment  therefor,  and  granting  unto 
such  commissioners  certain  rights  and  powers  and  to  riparian  owners  certain 
rights  and  titles,"  approved  May  2,  1907,  in  force  July  1,  1907,  and  all  Acts  and 
parts  of  Acts  in  conflict  herewith,  except  as  to  all  petitions  and  bills  in  chancery 
begun  before  and  pending  on  May  1,  1912,  under  the  said  Act  approved  May  2, 
1907,  to  establish  and  confirm  agreements  theretofore  entered  into  under  and 
in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  said  Act  of  May  2,  1907,  and  except  as  to 
said  agreements  if  established  and  confirmed  in  said  proceedings,  and  all  lands, 
rights,  titles  and  interests  affected  by  such  agreements  if  so  established  and 
confirmed  in  said  proceedings  under  said  Act,  and  as  to  said  proceedings,  agree- 
ments established  and  confirmed  thereby,  and  lands,  rights,  titles  and  interests 
affected  by  said  agreements  if  so  established  and  confirmed,  said  Act  of  May  2, 
1907,  shall  not  be  repealed  hereby. 

Approved  June  11,  1912. 

After  the  approval  by  Governor  Deneen  of  tlie  foregoing 
Act,  which  became  effective  July  1,  1912,  negotiations  for  set- 
tlement with  the  south  shore  claimants  were  resumed,  and  a 
meeting  was  held  at  Judge  Payne's  office,  July  9,  1912,  at  which 
were  present  the  following: 

John  Barton  Payne,  President,  South  Park  Commissioners ; 
H.  W.  Perce,  representing  the  Brega  claim ; 
Harry  W.  Sisson,  representing  the  claim  formerly  known 
as  the    Pullman    claim,    which   had   in  the  meantime 
changed  hands; 
Daniel  Byrnes,  and  P.  L.  McArdle,  representing  one  Col- 
lins, now  the  owner  of  what  was  formerly  the  Clara  M. 
Jones  claim; 
Willis  Smith,  representing  the  Lehman  Estate; 
Harrison  B.  Eiley,  representing  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel 

property ; 
Eobert  N.  Holt,  representing  the  Attorney-General ; 
Wm.  H.  Sexton,  Corporation  Counsel ; 
James  G.  Skinner,  Assistant  Corporation  Counsel;  and 


29 

Theodore  K.  Long,  Chairman  of  the  Lake  Shore  Reclama- 
tion Commission. 

The  sundry  claims  were  discussed  in  the  light  of  the  in- 
creased power  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  condemn 
under  the  Act  of  June  11,  1912,  and  a  tentative  plan  of  adjust- 
ment was  finally  suggested,  and  Mr.  Skinner  was  instructed  to 
have  prepared  by  the  City  Map  Department,  a  map  showing  the 
proposed  tentative  plan, — such  map  to  be  submitted  for  further 
consideration  by  all  the  parties  interested,  at  a  meeting  to  be 
held  at  the  same  place,  July  12,  1912,  at  9 :30  a.  m. 

Several  conferences  were  subsequently  had  with  the  claim- 
ants, which  resulted  eventually  in  the  adjustment  by  agreement 
of  three  out  of  the  five  claims  involved, — the  first  one  adjusted 
being  the  Brega  claim  as  follows : 

AGREEMENT  BETWEEN  SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSIONERS  AND  FANNY  F. 
BREGA  AND  JAMES  BARRELL. 

THIS  AGREEMENT,  made  this  Twenty-fifth  day  of  July,  A.  D.  1912,  between 
the  South  Park  Commissioners,  a  municipal  corporation,  created  by  the  laws 
of  the  State  of  Illinois,  hereinafter  called  the  Commissioners,  party  of  the  first 
part,  and  Fanny  F.  Brega,  widow,  and  James  Bakrell,  widower,  of  the  City  of 
Chicago,    County   of   Cook   and    State   of    Illinois,    parties    of   the    second    part, 

WITNESSETH: 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  now  have  control  over  the  public  parks  in  said 
City  of  Chicago  known  as  Grant  Park  and  Jackson  Park,  both  of  which  border 
upon  public  waters  in  this  state,  to-wit,  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  are 
now  separate;  and 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  under  the  authority  vested  in  them  by  the 
laws  of  said  state,  wish  to  extend  Jackson  Park  over  and  upon  the  bed  of  said 
public  waters  adjacent  thereto,  and  over  and  upon  any  lands  adjacent  to  or 
adjoining  upon  or  penetrating  into  said  waters,  and  to  connect  Jackson  and 
Grant  Parks  by  a  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway  extending  over  and  upon  the 
bed  of  the  said  public  waters,  and  over  and  upon  any  lands  adjacent  to  or 
adjoining  upon  or  penetrating  into  said  waters,  consistently,  however,  with  the 
practical  navigation  of  said  public  waters  for  the  purpose  of  commerce;  and 

Whereas,  said  parties  of  the  second  part  are  the  owners,  as  tenants  in 
common,  of  the  lands  and  the  riparian  and  other  rights  pertaining  to  such  lands 
on  the  shore  adjoining  said  public  waters  between  the  termini  of  the  boundary 
line  hereinafter  and  hereby  established,  and  are  also  the  owners  of  the  lands 
and  the  riparian  and  other  rights  pertaining  to  such  lands,  adjacent  or  near  to 
the  northerly  end  of  said  Jackson  Park  and  penetrating  into  the  said  waters 
east  of  said  boundary  line  herein  and  hereby  established,  which  said  lands  and 
the  riparian  and  other  rights  thereto  pertaining,  lying  east  of  said  boundary 
line,  said  Commissioners  desire  to  acquire  for  the  purposes  of  said  proposed 
extension  and  connection;  and 

Whereas,  the  construction  of  such  extension  and  connection  will  interfere 
with  or  destroy  the  enjoyment  by  said  parties  of  the  second  part  of  their  said 
riparian  rights  and  necessitate  the  appropriation  by  said  Commissioners  of  that 
part  of  the  said  lands  of  said  parties  of  the  second  part  penetrating  into  the 
said  public  waters  easterly  of  said  boundary  line,  and  the  acquisition  by  the 
Commissioners  of  said  riparian  rights  and  such  part  of  the  said  penetrating 
lands  of  said  parties  of  the  second  part  as  is  necessary  to  the  construction  of 
said  extension  and  connection;  and 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  and  said  parties  of  the  second  part  desire  to 
agree  in  form  and  manner  provided  by  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  upon  a 
permanent  boundary  line  dividing  between  the  Commissioners  and  said  parties 


30 

of  the  second  part  the  submerged  and  other  lands  which  extend  from  that  part 
of  the  west  line  of  Block  Four  (4)  in  East  End  Subdivision  (hereinafter  more 
particularly  described)  into  and  under  the  said  public  waters  between  the  termini 
of  the  said  boundary  line  as  hereinafter  described,  and  to  fix  and  define  the 
part  of  such  submerged  and  other  lands  which  shall  be  taken,  owned  and  used 
by  said  parties  of  the  second  part,  in  lieu  of  and  as  compensation  for  the  release 
to  the  Commissioners  of  their  said  riparian  rights  and  their  interest  in  the  part 
of  said  lands  penetrating  into  said  public  waters  east  of  said  boundary  line,  and 
to  confirm  in  the  said  Commissioners  title,  jurisdiction  and  control  for  park 
purposes  as  provided  by  law  over  the  said  riparian  rights  of  said  parties  of  the 
second  part  and  the  part  of  said  lands  penetrating  east  of  said  boundary  line; 
and 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  wish  to  have  established,  without  delay,  the 
said  boundary  line  opposite  the  said  shore  lands  owned  by  said  parties  of  the 
second  part,  to  thereby  secure  the  early  use,  for  park  purposes,  of  said  penetrat- 
ing and  other  lands  and  the  riparian  and  other  rights  pertaining  thereto  on 
the  easterly  side  of  said  boundary  line,  to  the  end  that  there  may  be  confirmed 
in  said  Commissioners  the  complete  title,  jurisdiction  and  control,  for  park 
purposes,  as  provided  by  law,  over  all  of  said  riparian  and  other  rights  and 
lands  penetrating  eastward  of  said  boundary  line  between  the  said  termini,  and 
that  there  may  be  confirmed  in  said  parties  of  the  second  part  the  right  and 
title  to  the  submerged  and  other  lands  between  the  said  boundary  line  and  the 
west  line  of  said  Block  Four  (4),  as  hereinafter  provided. 

Now,  THEREFORE,  in  Consideration  of  the  premises  and  of  the  benefit  to  result 
to  each  of  the  parties  herefrom,  and  the  mutual  covenants  and  agreements  of 
the  parties  herein  contained,  but  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Cook  County,  Illinois,  as  hereinafter  provided,  it  is  covenanted  and  agreed  be- 
tween the  Commissioners  and  said  parties  of  the  second  part  as  follows: 

ARTICLE  I. 

The  permanent  boundary  line  dividing  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and 
rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  Commissioners,  and  the 
submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used 
by  said  parties  of  the  second  part  (in  lieu  of  and  as  compensation  for  the  re- 
lease of  said  riparian  rights  and  said  part  of  said  penetrating  lands  to  the 
Commissioners,  as  hereinafter  provided),  here  contemplated  and  Intended  to 
be  established,  is  the  line  described  as  follows,  namely: 

Commencing  at  a  point  on  the  northerly  line  (extending  eastwardly)  of 
block  four  (4)  in  east  end  subdivision,  being  a  subdivision  of  the  south  seven 
and  eighty-six  one-hundredths  (7.86)  chains  of  the  southwest  fractional  quarter 
(S.  W.  Frl.  Yi)  of  section  twelve  (12),  lying  east  of  Park  Avenue,  together  with 
the  north  ten  (10)  chains  of  the  northwest  fractional  quarter  (N.  W.  Frl.  i/4)  of 
section  thirteen  (13),  lying  east  of  Park  Avenue,  all  in  township  thirty-eight 
(38)  north,  range  fourteen  (14)  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  according 
to  plat  thereof  recorded  in  the  recorder's  office  of  Cook  County,  Illinois,  October 
15,  1887,  in  book  25  of  plats,  page  50,  all  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  County  of  Cook 
and  State  of  Illinois,  said  point  being  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  (375)  feet 
easterly  (measured  along  said  northerly  line  of  said  block  four  (4)  extended 
eastwardly)  of  the  northwesterly  corner  of  said  block  four  (4),  thence  extending 
southerly  parallel  with  the  westerly  line  of  said  block  four  (4)  to  a  point  three 
hundred  and  seventy-five  (375)  feet  easterly  (measured  along  the  southerly  line, 
extended  eastwardly,  of  said  block  four  (4)  of  the  westerly  line  of  said  block 
four  (4);  which  said  boundary  line  is  hereby  established,  acknowledged  and 
confirmed,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  said  Circuit  Court,  as  the  said  perma- 
nent boundary  line  dividing  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be 
acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  Commissioners,  and  the  submerged  and 
other  lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  said  Fanny 
F.  Brega  and  James  Barrell. 

ARTICLE  II. 

The  Commissioners  shall  without  delay  file  a  petition  or  bill  in  chancery 
on  the  chancery  side  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County,  Illinois,  praying  that 


31 

the  said  boundary  line  above  established  between  the  lands  and  rights  acquired 
by  the  Commissioners  and  the  lands  and  rights  acquii'ed  by  Fanny  F.  Brega 
and  James  Barrell  may  be  established  and  confirmed  by  the  decree  of  said  court; 
and  said  Commissioners  shall  exercise  all  proper  diligence  and  take  all  proper 
steps  in  the  prosecution  of  such  petition  or  bill  in  chancery  as  may  from  time 
to  time  be  necessary,  as  contemplated  and  required  by  an  Act  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  approved  June  11,  1912,  entitled,  "An  Act  to  amend  an  Act  entitled, 
'An  Act  to  enable  park  commissioners  having"  control  of  a  park  or  parks  border- 
ing upon  public  waters  in  this  state  to  enlarge  and  connect  the  same  from  time 
to  time  by  extensions  over  lands  and  the  bed  of  such  waters,  and  defining  the 
use  which  may  be  made  of  such  extensions,  and  granting  submerged  lands  for 
the  purposes  of  such  enlargements,'  approved  May  14,  1903,  in  force  July  1,  1903, 
and  to  amend  the  title  thereof,  and  to  repeal  an  Act  therein  named,"  and  gener- 
ally shall  exert  all  reasonable  efforts  to  the  end  that  said  boundary  line  as  herein 
defined  may  be  established  and  confirmed  by  the  final  judgment  and  decree  of 
said  court  in  the  said  proceeding. 

ARTICLE  III. 

Upon  the  establishment  and  confirmation  by  the  final  judgment  and  decree 
in  said  proceeding  of  said  dividing  and  boundary  line  above  described  as  the 
permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line  along  and  opposite  said  lands  on  the 
shore  adjoining  said  part  of  the  said  public  waters,  which  together  with  the 
riparian  and  other  rights  pertaining  thereto  are  now  owned  by  the  said  parties 
of  the  second  part,  all  of  the  riparian  rights  now  held  or  owned  by  said  parties 
of  the  second  part  as  the  owners  of  said  lands,  and  also  all  the  right,  title  and 
interest  of  said  parties  of  the  second  part  in  and  to  the  part  of  the  submerged, 
reclaimed,  made  and  penetrating  lands  and  in  and  to  the  pai't  of  any  piers, 
basins  or  projections  situate,  lying  or  being  on  or  penetrating  or  projecting 
into  said  public  waters  beyond  and  on  the  easterly  side  of  said  boundary  line, 
between  the  termini  of  said  line,  shall  vest  in,  be  taken  by,  held  and  acquired 
by  the  said  Commissioners,  and  in  that  event  the  same  are  hereby  vested  in, 
transferred,  assigned  and  conveyed  to  the  said  Commissioners  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid;  and  upon  such  establishment  and  confirmation  as  aforesaid  of  the 
said  dividing  and  boundary  line  as  the  permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line 
along  and  "opposite  the  said  lands  of  said  parties  of  the  second  part,  the  part 
of  the  said  submerged,  reclaimed,  made  and  penetrating  lands  and  the  waters 
thereon  situate  and  being  on  the  westerly  side  of  said  boundary  line,  between 
the  termini  of  said  line,  and  all  the  right,  title  and  interest  in  or  pertaining 
thereto,  shall  be  taken,  owned  and  used  by  said  parties  of  the  second  part  in 
lieu  of  and  as  compensation  for  the  release  to  the  Commissioners  of  their  said 
above  described  riparian  and  other  rights  and  property,  and  in  that  event  the 
same  are  hereby  vested  in,  transferred,  assigned  and  conveyed  to  said  parties 
of  the  second  part;  and  the  said  parties  of  the  second  part,  as  tenants  in  common, 
shall  have  and  hold  the  fee  simple  title  to  any  and  all  such  lands  and  interests 
so  vested  in  them,  with  full  right  to  fill  in,  improve,  protect  and  use  the  same 
for  any  lawful  purpose  or  purposes,  and  to  sell  and  convey  the  same,  up  to  the 
line  so  established,  free  from  any  adverse  claim  in  any  way  arising  out  of  any 
question  as  to  where  the  shore  line  was  at  any  time  in  the  past  or  as  to  the 
title  to  any  existing  accretions. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

It  is  covenanted  and  agreed  that  upon  the  establishment  and  confirmation  of 
the  said  boundary  line  by  the  said  court,  the  said  boundary  line  so  established 
and  confirmed  shall  thereafter  be  the  permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line  of 
the  said  lands  so  to  be  taken  by  the  respective  parties  as  aforesaid  between  the 
termini  of  said  line  as  so  established  and  confirmed,  and  shall  not  be  affected 
or  changed  thereafter,  either  by  accretions  or  erosions. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  parties  hereto  hereby  mutually  covenant  and  agree  that  to  the  extent  of 
their  lawful  powers  they  will  do,  execute,  acknowledge  and  deliver,  or  will  cause 


32 

to  be  done,  executed,  acknowledged  and  delivered,  all  and  every  such  further 
acts,  deeds,  transfers  and  assurances,  and  that  they  will  from  time  to  time  in 
addition  thereto  in  all  lawful  ways  exercise  such  powers  as  they  may  possess, 
and  cause  to  be  done  and  perfomied  such  things  as  may  be  requisite  or  neces- 
sary for  the  better  assuring,  conveying  and  confirming  in  each  of  the  parties 
hereto  respectively,  all  and  singular  the  premises,  estates  and  property  included 
in  this  instrument  and  intended  to  be  vested  in  the  parties  hereto  respectively. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

It  is  further  covenanted  and  agreed  that  all  the  covenants,  agreements, 
rights,  privileges,  conditions  and  recitals  in  this  instrument  contained  shall 
extend  to  and  be  binding  on  the  heirs,  executors,  administrators,  assigns  and 
successors  of  the  respective  parties  hereto. 

This  agreement  has  been  made  and  executed  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution 
of  South  Park  Commissioners  duly  passed  according  to  law  at  a  meeting  regu- 
larly authorizing  the  execution  of  the  same. 

In  Witness  Whereof,  the  said  Commissioners  have  caused  this  agreement 
to  be  duly  executed  by  the  President  and  Secretary  of  said  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners and  the  corporate  seal  of  said  South  Park  Commissioners  to  be  hereunto 
afiixed,  and  the  said  parties  of  the  second  part  have  hereunto  set  their  re- 
spective hands  and  seals,  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

South  Park  Commissioners, 

By  John  Barton  Payne, 
President. 
Attest : 

J.  F.  Neil, 
Secretary. 

Fannie   E.   Brega.      [seal.] 
James   Barrell.  [seal.] 

Agreements  similar  in  form  to  the  Brega  agreement  above 
were  made  as  follows : 

October  22,  1912,  between  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
and  Charles  P.  Shedd,  Margaret  B.  Shedd,  his  wife,  and 
Edward  Shedd. 

November  1,  1912,  between  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
and  Edward  G.  Carter,  Clark  L.  Poole,  Charles  N.  Gillett  and 
others,  successors  in  interest  in  the  claim  of  the  Pullman  heirs. 

A  tentative  agreement  on  the  same  general  basis  as  the 
foregoing  has  also  been  entered  into  in  the  Lehman  claim. 

In  the  remaining  or  Jones  (now  Collins)  claim,  the  claim- 
ants have  not  been  willing  to  accept  what  has  been  deemed  a 
fair  adjustment,  and  preliminary  steps  have  therefore  been 
taken  toward  the  institution  of  condemnation  i3roceedings. 

The  foregoing  adjustments,  after  confirmation  thereof  by 
the  court,  will  give  the  South  Park  Commissioners  all  the  lake 
shore  lying  between  East  End  Park  and  Jackson  Park,  except 
only  that  portion  of  the  shore  fronting  on  the  Jones  or  Collins 
tract,  which  is  being  covered  by  condemnation  ]3roceedings  as 
aforesaid,  thus  securing  to  the  public  in  connection  with  East 
End  Park,  the  entire  stretch  of  lake  shore  lying  between  Jack- 
son Park  and  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  at  Fifty-first  Street. 


33 


III. 


THE  LAKE  SHORE  EXTENDING  FROM  THE  CHICAGO  BEACH  HOTEL  TO 
GRANT  PARK,  A  DISTANCE  OF  APPROXIMATELY  FOUR  AND  ONE-HALF 
MILES^  INVOLVING  PRIMARILY  THE  CLAIM  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL 
RAILlfOAD   COMPANY. 

1.      PROCEEDINGS    IN    COUET — ATTEMPTS    TO    AFFECT    AN    AMICABLE    ADJUSTMENT 

MEMORANDUM   OF  CITY'S   CLAIMS — RESOLUTIONS   BY   THE   SOUTH   PARK   COMMISSIONERS 

CHICAGO    CLUB   CONFERENCES AGREEMENT   OF   DECEMBER    11,    1912,    BY    THE    ILLINOIS 

CENTRAL  RAILROAD  COMPANY  AND  THE   SOUTH  PARK   COMMISSIONERS CONFERENCES   OF 

DECEMBER    14    AND    DECEMBER    18    AT   THE    LA  SALLE    HOTEL   AND   THE    MAYOR'S    OFFICE, 
RESPECTIVELY. 

The  suit  against  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
was  by  far  the  most  important  reclamation  suit  filed  by  our 
Commission,  by  reason  not  only  of  the  fact  that  it  involved  a 
much  greater  shore  line,  but  also  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the 
claimants  seemed  to  be  entrenched  with  a  stronger  showing  of 
title  than  the  other  claimants^  While  it  was  feared  from  the 
outset  that  this  suit  could  not  be  adjusted  upon  an  amicable 
basis,  yet  it  was  early  brought  to  the  writer's  attention  that  the 
railroad  would  be  willing  to  confer  with  the  city  authorities 
with  a  view  of  discussing  terms  of  settlement.  After  several 
attempts,  however,  in  this  direction,  nothing  was  accomplished. 
Indeed  the  Park  Commissioners  at  that  time  did  not  seem  to 
be  williiag  to  co-operate  with  the  city  authorities  in  bringing 
about  a  settlement  under  the  several  laws  then  in  force.* 

After  the  appointment  of  John  Barton  Payne,  as  President 
of  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  negotiations  with  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  were  renewed  and  terms  of  a  set- 
tlement were  discussed  at  the  Union  League  Club  by  Mayor 
Harrison,  Judge  Payne  and  the  writer  at  a  luncheon  given  by 
the  writer,  July  13,  1911,  and  it  was  agreed  at  that  time  that 
the  city  authorities  and  the  Park  Commissioners  would  fully  co- 
operate in  any  effort  to  bring  about  a  settlement  with  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  it  being  understood  that 
pending  negotiations  by  the  Park  Commissioners  with  the 
railroad  company,  the  city,  through  its  Lake  Shore  Reclama- 
tion Commission,  should  proceed  with  due  diligence,  "with  the 
preparation  of  its  suit  against  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  the  same  as  though  no  effort  at  settlement  was  being 
made  by  the  Park  Commissioners. 

Nothing,  however,  was  immediately  accomplished  and  in 
the  meantime  the  law  authorizing  the  location  of  harbor  dis- 

*Act  approved  May  14,  1903,  and  Act  approved  May  2,  1907. 


34 

tricts*  became  effective,  conferring  upon  the  city  extraordinary 
powers  over  the  lake  shore  for  harbor  purposes,  and  the  Com- 
mittee on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges  took  steps  toward 
the  location  of  harbor  districts  along  the  lake  front.  A  sub- 
committee on  harbor  location  was  appointed,  of  which  the 
writer  was  made  chairman.  Pending  the  public  hearings  of 
the  Harbor  Sub-committee,  negotiations  were  resumed  between 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Eail- 
road  Company.  The  Harbor  Committee  adopted  the  report  of 
the  Sub-committee  on  Harbor  Development  and  presented  the 
same  to  the  City  Council  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  1911, 
which  report  came  up  for  consideration  early  in  November, 
recommending  among  other  things,  the  location  of  Harbor  Dis- 
trict Number  3,  between  Grant  Park  and  Thirty-first  Street. f 
Several  days  later  there  was  a  conference  between  the  Mayor 
and  the  chairman  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  and  on  the 
following  day,  November  9,  1911,  a  further  conference  was  held, 
at  which  the  writer  was  present  and  outlined  the  purpose  of  the 
ordinance  providing  for  the  location  of  Harbor  District  Number 
3,  to  be  to  force  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  to  act 
in  conformity  with  the  wishes  of  both  the  city  and  the  public 
in  bringing  about  an  early  adjustment  of  the  lake  shore  matter. 

On  the  following  day,  November  10th,  after  a  further  con- 
ference with  the  Mayor,  it  'was  agreed  to  call  a  meeting  at  the 
Mayor's  office,  and  the  writer  was  requested  by  the  Mayor  to 
outline,  in  writing,  the  city's  demands  in  connection  with  the 
proposed  settlement  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 
The  writer  accordingly  prepared  the  same  day  and  presented 
to  the  Corporation  Counsel  a  memorandum  setting  forth  in 
brief  the  city's  claims. 

On  Monday,  November  20th,  following,  the  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges  called  up  in 
regular  order  and  had  passed  by  the  Council,  the  ordinance  pro- 
viding for  the  location  of  Harbor  District  Number  3.  Two  days 
later,  November  22nd,  a  conference  was  held  at  the  Mayor's  of- 
fice, at  which  were  present  Mayor  Harrison,  John  Barton  Pa^^ne, 
Joseph  Donnersberger,  Robert  Redfield,  Maclay  Hoyne  and 
Theodore  K.  Long.  The  following  memorandum  or  outline  of 
the  city's  claims,  as  previously  prepared  by  the  writer  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  Corporation  Counsel,  was  presented  for  considera- 
tion: 

MEMORANDUM. 

In  consideration  of  the  repeal  by  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago, 
or  veto  by  the  Mayor,  of  an  ordinance  locating  Harbor  District  Number  3,  rec- 

*See  report  of  Sub-Committee  on  Harbor  Development,  October  11,  1911,  p. 
8,  Act  approved  June  10,  1911,  known  as  the  "Harbor  Act." 

f  See  report  of  Sub-Committee  on  Harbor  Development,  October,  1911. 


35 

ommended  for  passage  by  the  Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges, 
October  30,  1911  (Council  Proceedings,  page  1451)  and  duly  passed  November 
20,  1911  (Council  Proceedings,  page  1789),  it  is  agreed  between  the  City  of 
Chicago  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners  as  follows: 

1.  All  riparian  rights  in  and  to  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  from  the  north 
side  of  Sixteenth  Street  to  the  north  side  of  Twenty-second  Street,  and  the 
submerged  lands  adjacent  to  said  shore,  shall  belong  to  the  City  of  Chicago  in 
perpetuity,  to  be  used  by  said  city  only  in  the  event  that  such  submerged  lands 
may  be  required  by  said  city  for  harbor  purposes. 

2.  The  city  reserves  the  right  to  enter  across  and  over  the  Illinois  Central 
and  the  South  Park,  or  to  go  under,  as  the  city  may  elect,  with  not  more  than 
four  railroad  tracks  on  or  adjacent  to  Sixteenth,  Eighteenth,  Nineteenth,  Twen- 
tieth or  Twenty-first  Streets,  as  the  city  may  elect,  and  also  reserves  a  right  of 
way  from  Forty-first  Street  to  Sixteenth  Street,  immediately  east  of  the  Illinois 
Central  and  parallel  thereto,  for  not  more  than  two  tracks,  with  the  right  to  the 
city  to  cross  the  Illinois  Central  at  Forty-first  Street  above  grade,  or  to  go 
under  by  tunnel,  as  the  city  may  elect. 

3.  The  city  relinquishes  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  the  slip  owned 
by  the  city  located  immediately  south  of  Grant  Park. 

4.  The  rights  reserved  to  the  city  for  harbor  and  railroad  purposes,  if 
exercised,  must  be  exercised  by  the  city  as  a  municipality,  and  cannot  be  alien- 
ated or  disposed  of  by  the  city,  except  temporarily  to  a  lessee,  as  contemplated 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  June  10,  1911. 

5.  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners, in  the  development  of  the  contemplated  lake  shore  improvements,  shall 
provide  proper  retaining  walls  back  of  which  the  city's  teams  and  the  teams  of 
the  city's  contractors  may  dump  all  ashes  (but  not  garbage),  refuse  and  excava- 
tion material  taken  from  streets  and  alleys  when  paving  same,  or  when  install- 
ing conduits,  water  pipes,  sewers,  etc.,  or  when  excavating  for  municipal  build- 
ings or  other  improvements;  said  dumping  facilities  to  be  furnished  free  to 
the  city  for  all  wards  bordering  on  the  lake  south  of  the  Chicago  River  and 
north  of  Sixty-third  Street.  Retaining  walls  to  be  so  constructed  as  to  prevent 
contamination  of  bathing  beaches  at  Twenty-fifth  and  Thirty-ninth  Streets. 

6.  The  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  provide  a  dumping  ground  on 
Morgan  Shoal  and  connect  same  with  the  shore  at  Fifty-first  Street  by  a  tem- 
porary bridge  for  the  use  of  the  city's  teams  and  the  teams  of  the  city's  con- 
tractors, in  accordance  with  plans  shown  in  the  Joint  Report  of  the  Committee 
on  Bathing  Beaches  and  Recreation  Piers  and  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation 
Commission,  to  the  Mayor  and  the  City  Council,  dated  December  15,  1910,  or 
plans  of  similar  character;*  substantial  start  to  be  made  on  Morgan  Shoal 
within  eighteen  months  from  the  entry  of  the  final  decree  in  the  proposed 
adjustment  between  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  South  Park 
Commissioners. 

7.  The  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  construct  and  maintain  in  per- 
petuity a  public  pier  for  passenger  and  excursion  boats  at  Twenty-second  Street 
accessible  by  bridge  over,  or  tunnel  under,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  tracks; 
substantial  start  to  be  made  in  the  construction  of  said  pier  within  eighteen 
months  from  entry  of  final  decree  as  aforesaid. 

8.  The  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  maintain  a  permanent  bathing 
beach,  with  adequate  buildings  and  facilities  therefor,  between  Twenty-second 
and  Twenty-fifth  Streets,  accessible  by  tunnel  or  bridge,  and  the  city  shall  turn 
over  to  said  South  Park  Commissioners  the  city's  temporary  beach  now  at 
Twenty-fifth  Street,  which  shall  be  maintained  by  said  Park  Commissioners, 
until  a  permanent  beach  and  buildings  shall  be  provided  by  said  Park  Com- 
missioners. 

9.  The  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  maintain  a  permanent  bathing 
beach,  with  adequate  buildings  and  facilities  therefor,  at  or  near  Thirty-ninth 
Street  and  Lake  Michigan,  connection  with  said  bathing  beach  to  be  by  tunnel 
under  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company's  tracks,  said  tunnel  to  connect 
with  the  city's  small  park  west  of  the  railroad  tracks;  the  said  small  park  to  be 

*For  plans  referred  to,  see  Appendix  K. 


36 

transferred  by  the  city  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners.  Said  tunnel  shall  be 
constructed  substantially,  as  shown  in  the  Joint  Report  of  the  Committee  on 
Bathing  Beaches  and  Recreation  Piers  and  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Com- 
mission, to  the  Mayor  and  City  Council,  dated  December  15,  1910. 

10.  South  Park  Avenue  shall  be  extended  north  from  Twenty-second  Street 
to  Grant  Park,  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  at  their  own  expense,  crossing 
the  Illinois  Central  tracks  above  grade. 

The  several  paragraphs  of  the  foregoing  memorandmn 
were  under  discussion  for  several  days  and  it  was  finally  agreed 
between  the  city  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners  that  the 
city's  claims  should  be  recognized  in  the  form  of  a  series  of 
resolutions  to  be  adopted  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  as 
follows : 

Whekeas,  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago  on  November  20,  1911, 
passed  an  ordinance  whereby  it  elected  and  determined  to  exercise  the  power 
and  authority  granted  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois, approved  June  10,  1911,  entitled,  "An  Act  to  enlarge  the  power  of  cities 
in  relation  to  harbors,  canals,  wharves,  docks,  piers,  slips  and  other  harbor 
structures,  facilities,  improvements  and  utilities  constructed  or  operated  in 
connection  therewith,  to  authorize  the  acquisition  and  condemnation  of  property 
and  the  use,  occupation,  reclamation  and  acquisition  of  the  submerged  lands 
of  the  State  in  carrying  out  such  power,  and  to  repeal  all  Acts  or  parts  of  Acts 
in  conflict  therewith,"  to  acquire,  own,  use,  occupy  and  reclaim  all  the  submerged 
lands  under  the  public  waters  of  the  State  of  Illinois  within  the  limits  or 
jurisdiction  of  or  bordering  on  the  City  of  Chicago  and  included  within  the 
district  known  as  Harbor  District  Number  Three,  particularly  described  in 
said  ordinance  and  bounded  by  a  line  extending  eastward  from  the  southeast 
corner  of  Grant  Park  one  mile  into  Lake  Michigan,  thence  extending  southward 
at  right  angles  to  Thirty-first  Street  extended,  to  the  intersection  with  the 
south  line  of  said  Thirty-first  Street  extended,  thence  extending  westerly  to  the 
point  of  intersection  with  the  original  right-of-way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company  and  thence  extending  northerly  along  said  right-of-way  to  the 
place  of  beginning;  and 

Whereas,  the  election  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  by  said  ordinance,  if  the 
same  becomes  effective,  to  acquire,  own,  use,  occupy  and  reclaim  the  submerged 
lands  within  said  Harbor  District  may  interfere  with  the  plans  of  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  to  connect  Jackson  Park  and  Grant  Park  by  a  boulevard 
or  driveway  extending  over  and  upon  the  bed  of  the  public  waters  lying  in  part 
within  Harbor  District  Number  Three,  as  described  in  said  ordinance,  and  to 
acquire  the  riparian  rights  and  submerged  lands  necessary  therefor  in  accord- 
ance with  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  authorizing  park  commissioners  to  acquire 
and  improve  submerged  and  shore  lands  for  park  purposes,  providing  for  the 
payment  therefor  and  granting  unto  such  commissioners  certain  rights  and 
powers  and  to  riparian  owners  certain  rights  and  titles,"  approved  May  2,  1907, 
in  force  July  1,  1907,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  public  interest  in  the  judgment  of 
the   South   Park  Commissioners  that  such  plans  be  consummated; 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  resolved  by  the  south  park  commissioners,  that  if 
and  in  consideration  that  such  steps  are  taken  by  the  City  of  Chicago  that  said 
city  does  not  elect  or  determine  to  use  the  right  or  license  to  use,  occupy  or 
reclaim  the  submerged  lands  within  said  Harbor  District  Number  Three,  as 
described  in  said  ordinance,  and  does  not  take  action  which  will  prevent  or 
interfere  with  the  acquisition  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners  of  the  riparian 
rights  and  submerged  lands  under  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  between  Grant 
Park  and  Jackson  Park  and  the  connection  of  said  parks  by  a  boulevard  or 
driveway  under  and  in  accordance  with  said  Act  approved  May  2,  1907,  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  hereby  undertake  and  agree  as  follows: 

(1)  The  South  Park  Commissioners  agree  that  all  riparian  rights  in  and 
to  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  from  the  north  line  of  Sixteenth  Street  extended 


37 

east  to  the  north  line  of  Twenty-second  Street  extended  east  and  the  submerged 
lands  adjacent  to  said  shore  not  filled  in  or  to  be  filled  in  by  the  South  Park 
Commissioners,  shall,  so  far  as  the  South  Park  Commissioners  is  concerned, 
belong  to  the  City  of  Chicago  in  perpetuity,  to  be  used  by  said  city,  however, 
only  in  the  event  that  such  submerged  lands  may  be  required  by  said  city  for 
harbor  purposes. 

(2)  The  South  Park  Commissioners  agree  that  the  City  of  Chicago  may 
enter  across  and  over  any  lands  which  may  be  owned  or  acquired  by  said  South 
Park  Commissioners  with  not  more  than  six  (6)  tracks  on  or  adjacent  to  either 
Sixteenth,  Eighteenth,  Nineteenth,  Twentieth  or  Twenty-first  Streets,  and  may 
also  use  and  occupy  a  right-of-way  from  Forty-first  Street  to  Sixteenth  Street 
for  not  more  than  four  (4)  tracks  located  immediately  east  of  the  right-of-way 
of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company;  it  being  further  understood  that  the 
Commissioners  will  grant  to  the  city  free  and  suitable  access  to  said  harbor 
when  established. 

(3)  It  is  understood  that  said  City  of  Chicago  in  consideration  of  the 
various  undertakings  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  provided  for  herein, 
shall  and  will  convey  to  said  South  Park  Commissioners  the  slip  now  owned 
by  the  city  located  directly  south  of  Grant  Park. 

(4)  It  is  further  understood  that  the  rights  hereby  granted  to  said  City 
of  Chicago  for  harbor  and  railroad  purposes  shall  not  be  exercised  by  said  City 
of  Chicago  as  a  municipal  corporation  under  and  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  said  Act  in  relation  to  harbors,  approved  June  10,  1911. 

(5)  Said  South  Park  Commissioners  agree  that  it  will  arrange  as  soon 
as  may  be  for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  a  public  pier  for  passenger 
and  excursion  boats  at  Twenty-second  Street,  accessible  by  bridge  over  or  tunnels 
under  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

(6)  Said  South  Park  Commissioners  agree  that  it  will  install  and  main- 
tain two  public  bathing  beaches  with  adequate  buildings  and  facilities  between 
Twenty-second  Street  and  Jackson  Park,  said  beaches  to  be  accessible  by  tunnels 
under  or  bridges  over  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

(7)  Said  South  Park  Commissioners  agree  that  whenever  the  City  of 
Chicago  turns  over  South  Park  Avenue  to  said  South  Park  Commissioners  for 
boulevard  purposes,  it  will  cause  said  South  Park  Avenue  to  be  extended  with- 
out expense  to  the  City  of  Chicago  northward  from  Twenty-second  Street  across 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company's  tracks  and  will  cause  a  suitable  viaduct 
to  be  built,  connecting  said  South  Park  Avenue  as  extended,  with  the  park 
property  on  the  east  side  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company's  tracks. 

The  above  is  in  accordance  with  the  understanding  reached  at  the  confer- 
ence in  Mayor  Harrison's  office  between  Hon.  John  Barton  Payne,  representing 
the  South  Park  Commissioners,  their  counsel,  Hon.  Robert  Redfield  and  Hon. 
Theodore  K.  Long,  representing  the  City  Council,  at  which  I  was  also  present 
as  counsel  for  the  city. 

(Signed)    Maclay  Hoyne, 
First  Assistant  Corporation  Counsel. 

November  24,  1911 
O.  K. 

Theodore  K.  Long, 

Chairman  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission. 

The  resolutions  as  above  set  forth  were  formally  adopted 
by  the  South  Park  Commissioners  November  25,  1911.*  Two 
days  later  the  writer  received  the  following  note,  which  ex- 
plains itself: 

1400  First  National  Bank  Building. 

November  the  twenty-seventh. 
My  Dear  Sir: — Will  you  do  me  the  kindness  to  meet  a  few  friends  at 
dinner  at  the  Chicago  Club  on  Friday,  December  1,  1911,  at  seven  o'clock, 

♦See  Extract  from  the  Chicago  Tribune  of  November  26,  1911,  Appendix  E. 


38 

to  consider  the  negotiations  now  pending  between  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  in  reference  to  acquiring 
the  riparian  rights  from  Grant  Park  south,  and  other  matters  of  public 
interest  involved  in  the  negotiations. 

Yours  very  truly, 

John  Barton  Payne. 
Hon.  Theodore  E.  Long,  4823  Kimhark  Avenue,  Chicago,  Illinois. 


The  following  were  present  at  Judge  Payne's  dinner: 

Hon.  Carter  H.  Harrison,  Mayor, 

Mr.  Victor  F.  Lawson,  of  the  Neivs, 

Mr.  Daniel  H.  Burnham,  architect, 

Mr.  John  Barton  Payne,  Chairman,  South  Park  Commissioners, 

Mr.  H.  H.  Kohlsaat,  of  the  Record  Herald, 

Lieut.  Col.  Geo.  A.  Zinn,  Eng.  United  States  Army, 

Mr.  James  Keeley,  of  the  Chicago  Tribune. 

Mr.  E.  B.  Butler,  Chairman,  Lake  Parks  Committee  of  the  Chicago  Plan, 

Mr.  Edward  Tilden,  South  Park  Commissioner, 

Mr.  Henry  G.  Foreman,  South  Park  Commissioner, 

Mr.  Lester  L.  Jones,  of  the  Chicago  Journal. 

Mr.  John  F.  Foster,  Superintendent  for  South  Park  Commissioners, 

Mr.  Stanley  Field,  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co., 

Mr.  Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  South  Park  Commissioner, 

Mr.  Joseph  Donnersberger,  South  Park  Commissioner, 

Mr.  J.  C.   Schaefer,  of  the  Chicago  Post, 

Mr.  Robert  Redfield,  Attorney  for  South  Park  Commissioners, 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Wacker,  of  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission, 

Mr.  William  H.  Sexton,  Corporation  Counsel,  and 

Mr.  Theo.  K.  Long,  Chairman,  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission. 

At  the  conference  held  at  the  Chicago  Club  all  those  present 
expressed  themselves  in  favor  of  the  contemplated  lake  shore 
improvement.  The  writer  stated  in  his  remarks  that  he  was 
strongly  in  favor  of  the  improvement,  provided  always  that 
the  details  of  the  agreement  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  properly  secured  the  city  in  such  restrictions  and 
limitations  as  were  requisite  to  protect  the  interests  of  the 
public.  The  following  correspondence  which  took  place  a  few 
days  later  is  of  interest: 

December  5,  1911. 
Hon.  Carter  H.  Harrison,  Mayor. 

Dear  Mr.  Mayor: — Referring  to  our  recent  arrangement  with  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  concerning  the  lake  shore  adjustment  pending  with  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  it  occurs  to  me  that  we  should  keep 
thoroughly  in  mind  what  the  city  must  demand  of  the  railroad  company  in 
consideration  of  the  vacation  of  Indiana  Avenue  and  a  certain  alley,  both  of 
•which  vacations  are  necessary  to  the  railroad  in  its  contemplated  depot 
changes. 

The  city  should  require  as  conditions  precedent,  the  following: 

1.  The  right  to  extend  South  Park  boulevard  across  the  Illinois  Central 
tracks  and  yards  north  of  Grant  Park  to  the  Chicago  River,  such  extension 
to  be  above  grade  and  to  be  at  the  city's  expense. 

2.  The  right  to  cross  the  Illinois  Central  right-of-way  with  necessary 
railroad  tracks  and  streets  to  connect  with  the  proposed  municipal  harbor, 
in  the  event  the  city  determines  to  build  such  harbor  south  of  Grant  Park. 

3.  No  machine  shops,  repair  shops,  coal  yards,  freight  depots,  round- 
houses, or  other  objectionable  structures  shall  be  erected  on  any  portion  of 


39 

the  made  or  submerged  lands  acquired  by  the  railroad  from  the  South  Park 
Commissioners,  or  from  other  parties,  lying  east  of  the  railroad  company's 
original  right-of-way  and  south  of  Twenty-second  Street. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  calling  your  attention  to  these  matters  at  this 
time  so  that  they  may  not  be  overlooked  when  we  come  to  close  with  the 
Illinois  Central. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Theodore  K.  Long, 
Chairman,  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission. 


Carter  H.  Harrison, 
Mayor. 
CITY  OF  CHICAGO. 
office  of  the  mayor. 

Chicago,  December  7,  1911. 
Mr.  Theodore  K.  Long,  Chairman,  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission,  4823 
Kimbark  Avenue,  City. 

Dear  Sir: — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  December  5th  containing 
suggestions  for  a  basis  of  negotiations  between  the  Illinois  Central  Railway 
Company  and  the  city,  in  connection  with  the  railroad's  contemplated  depot 
changes. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Carter  H.  Harrison, 

Mayor. 

On  December  11,  1912,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany and  the  South  Park  Commissioners  entered  into  an  agree- 
ment establishing  a  shore  line  from  Grant  Park  to  Fifty-first 
Street,  surrendering  to  the  Park  Commissioners  the  riparian 
rights  and  providing  for  the  location  of  the  Field  Museum  at 
Twelfth  Street  immediately  south  of  Grant  Park,  and  purport- 
ing to  cover  the  several  desiderata  demanded  by  the  city  in  the 
memorandum  of  November  10th  and  discussed  at  the  meeting 
held  in  the  Mayor's  office  November  22nd;  and  the  attorneys 
for  the  parties  to  the  agreement  of  December  11,  1912,  pre- 
pared an  ordinance  for  submission  to  the  City  Council,  ratify- 
ing and  confirming  said  agreement.*  Said  ordinance  and  agree- 
ment were  first  exhibited  for  discussion  at  a  conference  held 
at  the  LaSalle  Hotel,  December  14,  1911,  at  which  were  present, 
Messrs.  John  Barton  Payne,  Edward  B.  Butler,  Joseph  Don- 
nersberger,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  Charles  H.  Wacker,  Robert 
Redfield,  Harry  E.  Littler,  Blewett  Lee,  General  Solicitor  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Co.,  A.  S.  Baldwin,  Chief  Engineer  of  said 
company,  and  Theodore  K.  Long. 

After  considerable  desultory  discussion,  the  conference  ad- 
journed, with  the  understanding  on  the  part  of  the  city's  rep- 
resentatives, that  the  city's  demands  would  be  acceded  to.  How- 
ever, the  parties  in  interest  not  ha\dng  been  able  to  remove  all 
the  elements  of  difference,  a  further  conference  was  held  at  the 
Mayor's  office,  December  18,  1911,  at  12:45  p.  m.,  at  which  were 

*For  copy  of  said  proposed  ordinance  containing  therein  the  agreement  of 
December  11,  1912,  aforesaid,  see  Appendix  F. 


40 

present  Mayor  Harrison,  MaclayHoyne,  Robert  Redfield,  Harry 
E.  Littler,  Edward  B.  Butler,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson  and  the 
writer.  At  this  conference  it  was  agreed  that  the  city's  con- 
tention to  place  certain  restrictions  upon  the  use  of  the  Illinois 
Central  lands  was  tenable  and  that  the  proposed  ordinance 
should  be  amended  accordingly,  and  it  was  agreed  that  Messrs. 
Butler  and  Hutchinson  should  confer  with  the  railroad  authori- 
ties in  reference  thereto,  and  report  the  results  of  such  confer- 
ence at  2 :  30  p.  m.  the  same  day.  At  the  afternoon  meeting  in 
the  Mayor's  office,  there  were  present  in  addition  to  those  pres- 
ent in  the  forenoon,  Mr.  Charles  H.  Markham,  President  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  Mr.  Blewett  Lee,  its  Gen- 
eral Solicitor,  Mr.  A.  S.  Baldwin,  its  Chief  Engineer  and  Miss 
Ryan,  stenographer. 

This  conference  lasted  until  late  in  the  evening  and  the 
result  of  its  efforts  was  the  ordinance  as  finally  presented  to 
the  Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges  the  same 
evening,  just  as  the  committee  was  on  the  point  of  adjourning. 
By  reason  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  the  committee  refused  to 
consider  the  ordinance  and  adjourned  to  December  23rd,  for 
that  purpose. 

2.  PROCEEDINGS  BEFORE  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  HARBORS,  WHARVES  AND  BRIDGES  OF 
THE  CITY  COUNCIL — REFERENCE  OF  ENTIRE  SUBJECT  MATTER  TO  THE  CORPORATION 
COUNSEL,  DECEMBER  23,  1912 — LETTER  TO  THE  CORPORATION  COUNSEL,  JANUARY  6,  1912 
CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  JOHN  BARTON  PAYNE OPINION  OF  THE  CORPORATION  COUN- 
SEL— REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  MEETINGS,  JANUARY  23,  24,  26,  29,  30  AND  FEBRUARY  2 
AND  5. 

The  committee  at  its  meeting  held  on  December  23rd,  re- 
ferred the  entire  matter  to  the  Corporation  Counsel  for  an 
opinion,  and  later,  on  January  6th,  the  following  letter,  which 
was  dictated  by  the  writer,  was  forwarded  to  the  Assistant  Cor- 
poration Counsel,  who  had  personal  charge  of  the  subject. 

Chicago,  January  6,  1912. 
Hon.  Maclay  Hoync,  First  Assistant  Corporation  Counsel,  City  Hall. 

Dear  Sir: — On  December  23,  1911,  our  committee  respectfully  referred 
to  you  an  ordinance  prepared  by  the  attorney  for  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  relating  to  certain  sub- 
merged and  other  lands  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  between  Twelfth 
and  Fifty-first  Streets,  and  sundry  other  matters  in  connection  with  the 
proposed  adjustment  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  lands  of  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

Our  committee  desires  to  be  advised  as  to  whether  said  ordinance  prop- 
erly safeguards  the  interests  of  the  city  in  the  following: 

1.  The  right  of  the  city  to  locate  a  harbor  between  Twenty-second 
and  Sixteenth  Streets  on  the  submerged  lands  adjacent  to  the  proposed 
made  lands  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners. 

2.  The  right  reserved  to  the  city  of  adequate  access  to  said  harbor 
by  viaducts  for  street  and  railway  purposes  across  the  lands  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
between  Sixteenth  and  Twenty-second  Streets  and  also  at  Forty-first 
Street. 


41 

3.  A  right  of  way  reserved  to  the  city  for  railroad  tracks  from 
Forty-first  Street  north  to  Sixteenth  Street  east  of  the  lands  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

4.  The  right  granted  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  to 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  or  to  the  City  of  Chicago  to  extend 
South  Park  Boulevard  across  the  railroad  tracks  and  railroad  lands  at 
Twenty-second  Street  in  an  easterly  or  northerly  direction  by  viaduct, 
the  full  width  of  said  boulevard,  so  as  to  connect  with  the  park  lands 
east  of  the  lands  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

5.  A  limitation  upon  all  submerged,  made  and  other  lands  lying 
west  of  the  proposed  boundary  line  between  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  between  Thirty-first 
and  Fifty-first  Streets,  restricting  the  use  of  said  lands  for  tracks, 
switches,  turn-outs  and  passenger  stations  only,  unless  otherwise  author- 
ized by  express  consent  of  the  City  Council. 

6.  The  obligation  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  install  and 
maintain  in  perpetuity  two  public  bathing  beaches  between  Twenty- 
second  Street  and  Jackson  Park  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan. 

7.  The  obligation  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  install  and 
maintain  a  public  pier  for  passenger  and  excursion  boats  at  or  near 
Twenty-second  Street. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  I  shall  be  pleased  to  have  you  advise  our 
committee  of  any  and  all  things  growing  out  of  or  connected  with  said 
ordinance  that  in  your  opinion  will  in  any  way  enlighten  the  committee 
and  aid  it  in  arriving  at  a  correct  conclusion  in  reference  thereto. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Harry  E.  Littler, 
Chairman  of  Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges. 


A  meeting  of  the  Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and 
Bridges  was  called  for  January  17,  1912,  to  receive  the  opinion 
of  the  Corporation  Counsel,*  and  in  the  meantime  the  following 
correspondence,  which  is  self-explanatory,  passed  between  the 
parties  thereto. 

SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSIONERS  COMMISSIONERS 

57th   St.   and  Cottage   Grove  Ave.  Joseph  Donnersberger 

^    Chicago.  Edward  Tilden 

John  Barton  Patne 
Henrt  G.  Foreman 
Charles  L.  Hutchinson 

January  16,  1912. 

Dear  Alderman  Long: — I  regret  exceedingly  that  I  cannot  be  present 
at  the  meeting  of  the  committee  tomorrow,  but  feeling  that  it  was  my  duty 
that  I  should  express  my  views,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  writing  the 
chairman,  Mr.  Littler,  a  letter,  copy  of  which  I  enclose  herewith. 

I  want  you  personally  to  know  how  I  feel  about  it,  and  I  believe  that 
we  have  all  done  the  best  we  can,  and  that  the  ordinance  should  be  amended 
so  that  there  will  not  be  any  question  about  its  acceptance  by  the  railroad 
company. 

I  trust,  therefore,  you  will  try  to  put  it  through  as  suggested. 
With  kindest  regards. 

Yours  very  truly, 

John  Barton  Patne. 


*See  Opinion  of  Corporation  Counsel,  together  with  new  ordinance  recom- 
mended by  him.  Appendix  G. 


42 

SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSIONERS  COMMISSIONERS 

57th   St.   and  Cottage  Grove  Ave.  Joseph  Donnersbebgeb 

Chicago.  Edward  Tilden 

JoHX  Barton  Payne 
Henry  G.  Foreman 
Charles  L.  Hutchinson 

January  16,  1912. 

My  Dear  Alderman: — I  have  been  shown  the  draft  of  the  ordinance  as 
approved  by  the  Corporation  Counsel,  and  a  copy  of  the  letter  addressed  to 
the  Mayor  by  the  President  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 
Apparently  the  only  stumbling  block  now  in  the  way  is  whether  the  restric- 
tion contained  in  Section  9  of  the  ordinance  as  to  the  use  of  the  right  of 
way  of  the  company  shall  cover  not  only  the  lands  to  be  acquired  by  the 
railroad  company  under  this  contract,  but  the  lands  which  the  company  now 
owns. 

I  do  not  believe  we  have  any  right  to  impose  any  conditions  upon  the 
lands  which  are  not  involved  in  this  transaction,  and  I  believe  the  public 
is  sufficiently  protected  by  a  condition  covering  the  lands  to  be  acquired. 

I,  therefore,  beg  to  urge  that  the  draft  of  the  ordinance  be  amended  by 
substituting  the  word  "east"  for  the  word  "west"  in  the  ninth  line  from  the 
bottom  on  page  19  of  the  document  dated  January  16,  1912,  containing  the 
opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel  and  the  new  ordinance  prepared  by  the 
Corporation  Counsel,  so  that  the  sentence  will  read  "lying  west  of  the 
proposed  boundary  line  and  east  of  the  east  line  of  the  present  200-foot 
right  of  way,"  etc. 

Yours  very  truly, 

John  Barton  Payne, 

President. 

Hon.  Harry  E.  Littler,  Chairman,  Committee  on  HarTior,  Wharves  and 
Bridges,  Chicago,  Illinois. 


LAKE    SHORE   RECLAMATION   COMMISSION 

OF  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 

Theodore  K.  Long,  Chairman. 

Corporation  Counsel.  G.  B.  Young,  M.  D., 

Wm.  H.  Sexton,  Commissioner  of  Health. 

January  18,  1912. 

Hon.  John  Barton  Payne,  First  National  Bank  Bldg..  Chicago. 

My  Dear  Judge  Payne: — Replying  to  your  kindly  favor  of  the  16th 
inst,  I  beg  to  say  that  while  I  agree  with  you  in  the  main,  I  regret  that  I 
am  not  in  full  accord  with  your  view  relative  to  the  restriction  on  the  use 
of  the  company's  present  right  of  way  between  Thirty-first  Street  and 
Fifty-first  Street. 

I  feel  that  a  failure  to  impose  a  proper  restriction  upon  these  lands 
would  be  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  Kenwood  and  Hyde  Park  as  a  desira- 
ble urban  residential  district.  The  territory  south  of  Thirty-first  street  and 
east  of  State  street,  comprising  Hyde  Park  and  Kenwood,  contains  a  popu- 
lation of  approximately  a  quarter  of  a  million  people.  It  is  one  of  the 
largest  distinctively  residential  districts  within  the  City  of  Chicago  and 
includes,  as  you  know,  a  large  number  of  churches,  the  Chicago  University 
and  other  educational  institutions. 

The  total  assessed  valuation  of  this  district  runs  far  up  into  the  hun- 
dreds of  millions,  and  the  installation  of  extensive  railroad  interests  from 
Thirty-first  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street  along  the  lake  shore  would  not  only 
render  all  this  territory  much  less  desirable  for  residential  purposes,  but 
would  materially,  in  my  opinion,  reduce  its  value  and  entail  a  serious  loss 
upon  those  who  have  invested  their  money  in  that  section. 

That  the  company  proposes  to  use  its  present  right  of  way  for  objec- 
tionable purposes  is  apparent  for  two  reasons,  namely,  its  refusal  to  con- 
sent to  a  proper  limitation  upon  the  use  of  said  right  of  way,  and   the 


43 

admission  of  its  officials  to  the  writer  that  the  purpose  of  the  company  is, 
in  the  event  it  acquires  the  submerged  lands,  to  move  its  tracks  to  the  east 
side  of  the  to  be  acquired  lands,  so  as  to  leave  the  present  right  of  way 
free  for  other  uses  in  connection  with  the  business  of  the  railroad.  This  I 
cannot  consent  to. 

Nor  do  I  think  the  exigencies  of  the  case  are  such  as  to  warrant  the 
city  in  acceding  to  the  company's  demand.  The  company  is  acquiring  a 
splendid  concession  in  the  159  acres  which  accrue  to  it  in  fee  simple  under 
the  terms  of  its  contract  with  the  South  Park  Commissioners.  Indeed,  I 
feel  that  the  company  should  have  been  required  to  concede  the  one  other 
condition  proposed  by  me,  namely,  the  right  reserved  to  the  city  to  extend 
South  Park  Boulevard  across  the  company's  tracks  north  of  Grant  Park 
to  the  Chicago  River;  but  this  point  has  been  waived  and  needs  no  further 
consideration. 

If,  however,  the  company  does  not  accept  the  ordinance  with  the  proper 
limitation  upon  the  lands  in  question,  then  I  shall  ask  the  city  to  move  at 
once  and  locate  a  harbor  district  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Thirty-ninth  Street 
and  a  bathing  beach  from  Thirty-ninth  Street  to  Forty-third  Street  and 
another  at  Fifty -first  Street;  so  as  to  take  complete  possession  of  the  lake 
shore  and  the  company's  riparian  rights  and  forever  shut  off  the  company 
from  acquiring  any  lands  east  of  its  present  right  of  way. 

This  could,  at  most,  result  only  in  a  slight  delay  of  the  lake  shore  im- 
provement, and  would,  in  my  opinion,  in  the  long  run,  give  the  public  a 
much  better  result  than  can  possibly  accrue  to  it  under  the  arrangement 
now  under  consideration. 

Of  course,  I  much  prefer  to  see  the  present  deal  go  through,  and  I 
cannot  comprehend  how  the  Illinois  Central  can  refuse  to  accept  the 
splendid  advantages  accruing  to  it  even  though  it  be  compelled  to  consent 
to  a  limitation  upon  the  use  of  its  present  right  of  way  south  of  Thirty-first 
Street. 

Thanking  you  for  calling  my  attention  to  this  matter,  and  with  kind- 
est regards,  I  am, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodobe  K.  Long. 

The  aforesaid  opinion  of  tlie  Corporation  Counsel,*  to- 
gether with  the  new  ordinance  recommended  by  him,  was  pre- 
sented to  the  committee  on  January  17,  1912.  On  motion  of  the 
writer,  an  adjournment  was  taken  to  January  23rd,  to  allow  the 
committee  time  to  read  the  opinion  and  ordinance. 

As  the  succeeding  meetings  of  the  committee  involve  pro- 
ceedings and  discussions  of  more  than  passing  interest  to  the 
public,  the  writer  has  deemed  it  desirable  to  publish  full  sten- 
ographic reports  thereof  as  follows : 


^For  Opinion  of  Corporation  Counsel,  see  Appendix  G. 


44 


STENOGRAPHIC  REPORTS  OF  COMMITTEE  MEETINGS. 

•  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    COMMITTEE    ON    HARBORS,    WHARVES    AND 
BRIDGES    OF    THE    CITY    COUNCIL    OF    CHICAGO. 

Tuesday,  January  23,  1912,  2:30  o'clock  p.  m. 


The  committee  was  called  to  order  by  the  chairman, 
Alderman  Littler. 

Secretary  Harrah  called  the  roll  showing  the  following 
members  of  the  committee  present:  Aldermen  Littler,  Long, 
Nance,  Emerson,  Brennan,  Geiger,  Hey,  Block  and  Derpa. 
Others  present:  Mayor  Harrison,  Lessing  Rosenthal,  George  C. 
Sikes,  Allen  B.  Pond,  Charles  H.  Wacker,  Joseph  Donnersberger, 
Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  E.  B.  Butler,  Harry  P.  Lee,  Mr.  Van 
Vlissingen,  Frank  Comerford,  Eobert  Eedfield,  Wm.  H.  Sexton, 
Maclay  Hoyne,  and  Mr.  Williams  of  the  Sanitary  District  of 
Chicago. 

The  Chairman:     Quorum  present. 

Gentlemen,  this  is  a  meeting  called  together  for  the  purpose 
of  discussing  this  ordinance  in  an  open  hearing,  and  we  would 
like  suggestions  from  some  member  of  the  committee  as  to  how 
we  should  proceed — whether  we  shall  take  up  this  ordinance  in 
its  entirety  first  and  discuss  it,  or  whether  we  shall  take  it  up 
section  by  section. 

Aid.  Nance  :  I  would  suggest,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  we 
take  up  the  ordinance  paragraph  by  jDaragraph  for  considera- 
tion. 

The  Chairman  :  There  are  some  here  who  would  like  to  be 
heard  on  some  particular  point  and  would  it  not  be  well  to  have 
a  general  discussion  on  the  ordinance  as  a  whole,  and  then  after 
we  have  heard  from  those  who  wish  to  be  heard,  let  the  com- 
mittee take  it  up  section  by  section  for  adoption. 

Aid.  Nance:     That  would  be  perfectly  satisfactory  to  me. 

The  Chairman  :  I  think,  perhaps,  that  would  be  the  better 
way  to  proceed. 

Aid.  Block:  If  there  is  any  information  other  than  con- 
tained in  the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel,  I  think  we 
ought  to  have  it  at  this  time. 

The  Chairman  :    Yes,  that  would  be  the  best,  I  take  it. 

Aid.  Long:  Before  we  proceed  with  the  general  discus- 
sion I  think  the  Corporation  Counsel  has  some  amendments  to 
submit  in  addition  to  his  printed  opinion.  I  think  it  would  be 
well  to  have  those  amendments  read  at  the  start  of  the  hearing. 

The  Secretary:  Here  is  a  letter  dated  January  23,  ad- 
dressed to  the  chairman.     The  communication  recommends  the 


I 


45 

insertion  of  the  following  words  after  the  word  ''land"  in  the 
fifth  line  in  the  second  paragraph  on  page  8,  making  it  read  as 
follows : 

"The  important  legal  question  that  arises  in  connection  with  Section 
9,  or  one  similar  thereto,  is  whether  the  City  of  Chicago  can  by  ordinance 
restrict  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  to  certain  or  particular  uses 
of  the  newly  acquired  land  taken  from  the  200-foot  right  of  way  between 
Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Street,  in  view  of  the  broad  powers  above  re- 
ferred to  given  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  by  the  Act  of  1907,"  etc. 

The  second  correction  is  by  striking  out  the  word  "rail- 
road" in  the  fourth  line  from  the  last  line  of  paragraph  2  of 
Section  9  as  printed  on  page  19.  So  the  five  last  lines  of  the 
next  to  the  last  paragraph  on  page  19  will  read  as  follows : 

"Two  hundred  foot  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets,  shall  not  be  used  for  any 
purpose  other  than  track,  switches,  turnouts  and  passenger  stations,  with- 
out the  express  consent  of  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago." 

That  is  all. 

Aid.  Long  :  I  would  suggest  that  you  invite  any  committees 
or  representatives  to  be  heard  here  at  this  time. 

The  Chairman  :  I  would  like  to  hear  from  the  spokesman 
of  any  committee  which  has  appeared  here  for  a  specific  pur- 
pose. 

Mr.  Harry  F.  Lee  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  desire  to  read  a  brief 
statement;  it  will  take  about  four  minutes.  My  paper  has  in- 
vited an  attorney  whom  I  would  like  to  have  your  permission  to 
address  you. 

Aid.  Long:  I  would  be  very  glad  to  hear  from  Mr.  Lee 
or  his  attorney,  but  we  have  specially  announced  that  certain 
parties  would  be  given  a  hearing  here  today,  and  they  are  here 
for  that  purpose.  I  don't  know  that  Mr.  Lee  ought  to  be  given 
the  right  of  way. 

The  Chairman:  I  don't  know  that  there  should  be  any 
preference  given  at  all.  I  want  everyone  to  be  heard.  Whom 
do  you  represent  ■? 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  represent  myself  as  a  property  owner  and  my 
newspaper,  Mr.  Chairman.  I  was  invited  to  speak  here  this 
afternoon,  and  I  would  like  to  be  heard  at  this  time  for  the  rea- 
son that  my  attorney  has  to  return  to  court  in  a  short  time.  It 
will  not  make  any  difference  in  what  order.  It  is  a  matter  of 
personal  courtesy. 

The  Chairman  :    Go  ahead. 

Aid.  Nance  :  Would  it  not  be  well  for  each  party  to  submit 
his  name  and  announce  whom  he  represents  1  He  states  he  rep- 
resents a  paper,  what  paper  is  if? 

Mr.  Lee:    The  Calumet  Record. 


46 

The  Chaieman  :  In  other  words,  you  represent  the  Calumet 
District? 

Aid.  Long  :  He  does  not  say  so.  He  says  he  represents  his 
paper. 

The  Chairman  :    It  is  well  understood. 

Mr.  Lee:  This  ordinance  in  the  words  of  the  Corporation 
Counsel  is  an  endeavor  to  embody  a.  tentative  agreement.  This 
agreement  as  represented  carries  out  the  ideas  of  the  South 
Park-Illinois  Central  contract  slightly  modified.  One  of  the 
lawyers  who  signed  this  opinion  admitted  to  me  personally  that 
the  main  purpose  of  the  deal  was  a  gigantic  steal  of  public  lands. 
I  asked  him  why  in  the  name  of  God  and  the  City  of  Chicago  the 
opinion  did  not  so  state. 

Aid.  Long  :  Mr.  Chairman,  now  I  object  to  anything  of  that 
kind.  If  Mr.  Lee  wants  to  come  here  and  give  testimony  let 
him  give  names  and  dates,  not  innuendoes.  Let  us  have  facts  or 
nothing.  I  am  opposed  to  using  the  public  time  in  this  way.  We 
do  not  want  indefinite  innuendoes. 

Mr.  Sexton:  Mr.  Lee,  will  you  read  that  statement  over 
again?    I  would  like  to  have  the  committee  hear  it  again. 

The  Chairman  :    All  right,  Mr.  Lee. 

Mr.  Lee:  I  will  state  that  the  lawyer  admitted  to  me  in  a 
personal  way — I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  state  his  name  at  this' 
time  without  his  permission.  I  should  judge  if  he  had  wished 
his  name  known  he  would  have  embodied  that  remark  in  his 
opinion. 

The  Chairman  :    You  should  give  us  the  facts. 

Mr.  Sexton:    Will  you  read  that  statement  again,  Mr.  Lee? 

The  Chairman  :    Please  read  that  statement  again. 

Mr.  Lee:  One  of  the  lawyers  who  signed  this  opinion 
stated  that  the  main  purpose  was  a  gigantic  steal  of  public 
lands. 

Mr.  Sexton  :  Which  opinion  do  you  refer  to — of  the  Cor- 
poration Counsel? 

Mr.  Lee:    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Sexton  :  The  names  of  James  G.  Skinner  and  Maclay 
Hoyne  are  signed  to  the  opinion.  Was  any  statement  of  that 
kind  made  to  you  by  them?  Do  you  refer  to  Mr.  Hoyne  or  Mr. 
Skinner? 

Mr.  Lee:  Mr.  Maclay  Hoyne  was  the  man  I  was  talking 
with. 

Mr.  Hoyne:    Where? 

Mr.  Lee  :  In  this  City  Hall,  at  the  entrance  to  the  elevators 
about  a  week  ago  when  I  came  into  the  City  Hall. 

Mr.  Hoyne:  I  would  like  to  state  that  Mr.  Lee  has  made 
several  efforts  to  have  a  talk  with  me,  and  I  told  him  it  was  im- 
possible for  me  to  be  here.    I  must  deny  ever  having  made  any 


I 


47 

such  statement  to  Mr.  Lee,  and  I  deny  it  flatly.  The  only  time 
I  recollect  of  having  met  you  since  you  have  been  trying  to  get 
hold  of  me  was  one  morning  that  I  came  down  with  you  on  the 
Illinois  Central. 

Mr.  Lee  :    That  is  the  morning  I  refer  to. 

Mr.  HoYNE:  I  did  not  speak  with  you.  I  deny  that  lan- 
guage. 

Mr.  Lee  :    It  is  a  question  of  veracity  between  us. 

The  Chaieman  :  I  do  not  see  any  reason  for  your  entering 
into  a  discussion  of  what  somebody  else  said  of  why  we  shall  or 
shall  not  enter  into  this  contract. 

Mr.  Lee  :  Very  well,  I  will  leave  that  out  and  proceed,  with 
facts  that  cannot  be  disputed,  I  think.  I  asked  him  why  in  the 
name  of  God  and  the  City  of  Chicago  the  opinion  did  not  so 
state.  His  reply  was  a  quotation  from  the  last  paragraph  on 
page  ten : 

"We  have  kept  in  mind  in  the  foregoing  discussion  that  this  depart-, 
ment  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  wisdom  or  policy  of  the  proposed  ordi- 
nance, which  is  a  subject  committed  to  the  Mayor  and  the  City  Council. 
In  framing  this  ordinance  we  have  endeavored  to  embody  what  we  under- 
stand to  be  the  tentative  agreement  between  the  Illinois  Central  R.  R.,"  etc. 

The  reason  that  this  proposed  deal  is  a  steal- of  public  lands 
is  that  the  Illinois  Central  gives  nothing  in  return  for  the  160 
odd  acres  it  would  receive.  It  pretends  to  give  riparian  rights, 
which  in  the  language  of  the  contract,  "it  claims".  And  if  its 
claims  are  not  good,  the  South  Park  pays  half  and  the  I.  C.  pays 
half  to  buy  up  the  adverse  interests.  A  real  estate  deal  with- 
out precedent,  where  one  party  only  claims  its  rights  and  both 
parties  join  in  making  them  good. 

The  State  of  Illinois  and  the  City  of  Chicago  are  now  par- 
ties to  a  suit  still  pending,  which  questions  not  only  the  riparian 
rights,  but  the  right  of  occupation  by  the  Illinois  Central  of 
much  of  its  present  right  of  way  along  this  stretch.  Decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  deny  the  alleged 
riparian  rights  of  the  Illinois  Central  along  a  great  part  of  this 
distance.  But  although  the  State  and  city  are  parties  to  a  suit 
now  pending  on  this  very  point,  and  although  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  has  rendered  a  decision,  the  South 
Park  Board  forsooth  presumes  to  settle  the  case  out  of  court 
and  makes  a  contract  giving  the  Illinois  Central  160  acres  of 
land  worth  millions,  and  furthermore  confirming  its  present 
holdings,  in  return  for  riparian  rights  that  do  not  exist  accord- 
ing to  the  highest  authority  in  the  land. 

My  newspaper,  the  Calumet  Record,  has  retained  a  lawyer, 
Hon.  Frank  Comerford,  who  will  explain  more  in  detail  the 
legal  phases  of  this  matter.  I  might  add  that  in  case  the  City 
Council  should  approve  this  monstrous  bargain,  which  I  can- 


48 

not  believe  possible,  we  are  prepared  to  contest  the  matter 
through  the  courts. 

Having  established  this  bald  theft,  we  must  examine  fur- 
ther for  possible  explanation.  Certain  gentlemen  allied  with 
the  packing  interests  of  this  city  were  recently  appointed  mem- 
bers of  the  South  Park  Board,  burning  with  zeal  to  serve  the 
dear  public  for  the  munificent  salary  of  nothing  per  year.  They 
are  members  of  the  board  who  just  concluded  this  secret  con- 
tract, that  came  to  light  only  when  the  city  was  about  to  estab- 
hsh  a  harbor  district  there.  The  report  of  the  bureau  of  public 
efficiency  yesterday  recommending  the  abolition  of  these  park 
boards  and  their  merging  into  a  department  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment caused  no  surprise  among  those  who  are  familiar  with 
their  star  chamber  methods. 

The  packers  have  a  railroad  that  connects  with  the  Illi- 
nois Central  in  the  vicinity  of  Forty-first  Street.  The  Illinois 
Central  gets  the  right  to  sell  this  new  land  that  the  board  is 
about  to  present  to  them.  Is  it  possible  that  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  the  packers'  railroad  will  divide  the  spoils?  Did 
these  gentlemen  get  themselves  appointed  for  this  very  pur- 
pose? Is  the  whole  thing  a  conspiracy  to  steal  public  lands 
from  the  very  start?  These  are  the  facts.  And  these  are  the 
questions  that  must  be  answered. 

Last  night  the  Mayor  appointed  the  Inter-Lakes  Traffic 
Commission,  whose  duty  it  is  to  urge  the  construction  of  har- 
bors at  other  lake  cities.  When  they  are  asked  at  Buffalo  and 
Cleveland  and  Toledo  what  Chicago  is  doing,  will  they  be  forced 
to  reply:  "We  have  allowed  our  river  to  be  stolen  by  railroads 
and  private  interests,  we  have  barricaded  it  with  our  own 
bridges;  we  have  caused  a  current  there  that  seriously  inter- 
feres with  navigation  and  we  have  not  yet  planned  a  single 
project  for  its  improvement  for  harbor  and  terminal  purj)oses. 
We  have  located  a  harbor  site  on  the  North  Side  in  a  most  in- 
convenient spot  and  one  evidently  not  approved  by  the  govern- 
ment engineers,  just  as  it  was  never  specifically  approved  by 
any  otlier  engineer  who  ever  publicly  expressed  an  opinion  upon 
it.  We  have  as  yet  planned  nothing  in  the  Calumet  Region." 
And  to  the  question,  ''What  have  you  done  with  your  lake 
front ! ' '  shall  the  answer  be :  "  Oh,  the  lake  front,  well,  we  gave 
up  the  44  miles  we  had  left  to  the  Illinois  Central  in  exchange 
for  riparian  rights  that  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  said 
did  not  exist,  and  then  we  built  the  breakwater  for  the  railroad 
ourselves  and  filled  in  the  lake  and  made  a  boulevard  on  the 
lakeside  edge"? 

And  in  this  connection  I  cannot  help  but  refer  to  the  pic- 
tured lies  that  have  appeared  in  the  city  press  and  are  now  go- 
ing the  rounds  of  the  magazines,  the  dream  of  some  artist  that 


49 

would  cost  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars,  and  at  the  rate  of 
the  construction  of  Grant  Park,  which  is  our  only  possible  cri- 
terion, it  would  take  to  complete  it  some  three  hundred  years. 

Cities  of  the  old  world  and  our  own  country  are  utilizing 
or  preparing  to  utilize  every  available  foot  of  their  water  front 
for  harbor,  dockage  and  terminal  purposes.  New  York  has  306 
docks,  of  which  the  city  owns  76,  and  the  city's  dock  property  is 
worth  over  $200,000,000,  yielding  a  revenue  of  many  millions  an- 
nually. Stockholm  and  every  other  old  world  port  can  teach  us 
a  valuable  lesson  in  this  respect.  I  consider  the  development  of 
the  rivers  and  other  inland  waters  more  important,  and  I  have 
advised  this  committee  that  they  should  be  developed  first.  But 
if  the  committee  does  not  believe  in  this,  in  Heaven's  name  do 
not  destroy  all  chance  of  harbor  development.  Grant  Park 
should  be  a  harbor  site  and  the  whole  lake  front  should  be  re- 
served for  future  development. 

Another  paragraph  and  I  am  through.  The  money  of  the 
South  Park  should  be  spent  developing  the  small  park  sites 
already  acquired  by  the  board,  for  which  purpose  the  bond  issue 
of  several  years  ago  was  authorized.  There  are  half  a  dozen 
of  these  sites  now  lying  fallow  in  the  Calumet  region.  The  City 
Council  cannot  compel  the  proper  expenditure  of  this  money 
until  the  park  systems  become  merged  with  the  city  govern- 
ment, which  I  hope  and  pray  will  be  soon,  but  you  can  stop  this 
carefully  planned  steal  of  the  public  domain  and  this  outrageous 
act  that  would  cut  the  city  off  forever  from  its  greatest  asset: 
navigation  facilities  and  terminals — which  are  the  greatest  pos- 
session of  all  the  world's  great  cities — the  reason  for  its  loca- 
tion here  and  its  main  hope  in  the  future  for  protection  from 
railroad  domination,  at  present  the  greatest  public  crime  of 
the  country. 

Let  us  not  commit  industrial  and  commercial  suicide  by  al- 
lowing this  steal.  Let  us  not  voluntarily  allow  the  enemy  to 
steal  our  most  valuable  ammunition. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  will  ask  that  Mr.  Comerford  be  al- 
lowed to  explain  the  legal  features  at  issue. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  Mr.  Lee  made  a  statement  there — an  accu- 
sation. In  justice  to  this  committee  you  ought  to  state  more 
specifically.  You  call  this  a  steal,  Mr.  Lee.  Now,  we  would 
like  to  have  more  proof.  You  made  a  charge  here  against  the 
Corporation  Counsel,  You  should  give  us  more  proof.  You 
either  misunderstood  him  or  your  imagination  was  running 
away  with  you.  Now  I  am  a  neighbor  of  yours.  I  am  inter- 
ested in  the  Calumet  District,  but  I  cannot  sit  here  in  this  com- 
mittee and  allow  you  or  any  other  man  to  insult  the  Corporation 
Counsel  or  to  call  this  a  steal.  If  it  is  a  steal,  then  you  should 
prove  it. 


50 

Mr.  Lee:  I  stated  it  was  a  steal  for  the  reason  that  the 
railroad  is  to  receive,  in  my  opinion,  public  lands  and  is  to  give 
nothing  in  return.  In  my  opinion,  that  constitutes  a  steal.  I 
think  that  will  be  generally  admitted.  They  are  given  some- 
thing for  nothing. 

Aid.  Long:  Mr.  Chairman,  there  is  no  necessity  of  our 
running  away  with  personalities  in  this  matter.  We  are  not 
here  for  that  purpose.  I  do  not  propose  to  sit  here  and  listen 
to  mere  personal  abuse  fired  off  by  irresponsible  parties.  This 
man  who  has  just  taken  his  seat  has  seen  fit  to  charge  that  this 
whole  proposition  is  a  steal.  He  has  tried  to  besmirch  every 
member  of  the  South  Park  Board,  and  the  members  of  the  Cor- 
poration Counsel's  office,  the  Mayor  and  every  man  who  has 
had  anything  to  do  with  this  transaction.  It  is  an  insult  to  this 
committee  and  we  have  had  quite  enough  of  that  kind  of  talk. 
You  have  not  given  us  anything  but  abuse  and  innuendo  and 
accusation  without  any  proof.  I  ask  the  Chairman  that  we  at 
this  time  hear  from  persons  who  are  entitled  to  be  heard  along 
parliamentary  lines.  I  think  it  is  absurd  to  take  the  time  of 
this  committee  with  this  kind  of  stuff. 

The  Chairman:  I  presumed  that  Mr.  Lee  would  give  us 
facts. 

Aid.  Long  :     He  has  not  given  a  single  fact. 

The  Chairman:  I  wanted  to  give  everybody  a  chance  to 
state  why  we  should  not  enter  into  this  contract. 

Mr.  Lee:  I  have  my  attorney  here  to  explain  the  legal 
points  I  have  raised. 

The  Chairman:  I  do  not  see  any  reason  for  listening  to 
legal  points. 

Mr.  Lee  :  If  the  Illinois  Central  is  going  to  get  this  land 
it  is  supposed  to  give  something  in  return.  If  it  is  shown  that 
the  Illinois  Central  is  not  competent  to  give  anything  in  return, 
I  think  that  is  pertinent  evidence  to  be  heard. 

The  Chairman:  We  have  a  Corporation  Counsel  that  will 
decide  whether  we  have  a  right  to  enter  into  this  contract. 

Mr.  Lee  :  Will  you  permit  my  attorney  to  address  the  com- 
mittee, Mr.  Chairman? 

The  Chairman:  I  have  no  particular  objection  if  he 
doesn't  take  up  too  much  time. 

Mr.  Lee  :     He  will  be  very  brief,  I  am  sure. 

Mr.  Frank  Comerford:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of 
the  committee,  I  want  to  enter  my  disclaimer  to  any  knowledge 
of  interest  in  the  controversy  that  has  arisen,  growing  out  of 
an  attack  upon  the  integrity  of  members  of  this  committee  or 
members  of  the  South  Park  Board.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to 
characterize  the  conduct  or  the  acts  of  any  of  the  public  offi- 
cials concerned  in  the  matter  before  your  honorable  committee. 


51 

I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  discussion  of  the  contract  between 
the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  and  the  Park  Board,  the  ordinance 
pending  before  your  committee;  the  legislative  acts  conferring 
the  authority  on  the  Park  Board  and  the  legal  right  and  duty 
of  the  City  of  Chicago  at  this  time  to  refuse  a  ratification  of  the 
proposed  contract  on  the  ground  that  it  is  against  public  policy 
and  is  grossly  unmoral.  In  this  connection  I  may  have  occa- 
sion to  refer  to  Supreme  Court  decisions,  both  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  and  the  State  of  Illinois,  that  have 
a  recognized  bearing  upon  the  subject  matter  before  your  com- 
mittee. These  are  the  matters  to  which  I  shall  address  myself 
and  if  you  bear  with  me  I  shall  attempt  to  make  my  remarks  as 
brief  and  pointed  as  possible  in  view  of  the  magnitude  and  im- 
portance of  the  subject. 

I  begin  with  this  premise — that  the  committee  sitting  to- 
day is  vitally  interested  in  the  proposed  ordinance  and  the  con- 
tract between  the  Illinois  Central  and  the  Park  Board  that  is 
conditioned  upon  the  passage  of  this  ordinance.  I  believe  that 
your  committee  is  eager  and  anxious  for  every  fact  that  may 
be  necessary  to  an  intelligent  determination  of  the  issues  in- 
volved. The  point  of  view  that  I  may  submit  and  the  facts  in 
support  of  it  may  aid  the  committee  in  arriving  at  a  more  sat- 
isfactory determination  of  the  questions  involved.  If  I  suc- 
ceed in  supplying  a  single  fact  that  may  be  useful  to  this  com- 
mittee I  shall  feel  repaid  for  my  effort. 

The  Corporation  Counsel  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  on  page 
10  of  his  opinion,  very  clearly  and,  in  my  judgment,  very  prop- 
erly relieves  himself  of  all  responsibility  for  the  ordinance.  The 
Corporation  Counsel's  office  has  refused  to  concern  itself  with 
the  wisdom  or  policy  of  the  proposed  ordinance.  On  page  10 
of  the  opinion  as  printed  we  find  the  following: 

"We  have  kept  in  mind  in  the  foregoing  discussion  that  this  depart- 
ment has  nothing  to  do  with  the  wisdom  or  policy  of  the  proposed  ordi- 
nance, which  is  a  subject  committed  to  the  Mayor  and  City  Council.  In 
framing  this  ordinance  we  have  endeavored  to  embody  what  we  understand 
to  be  the  tentative  agreement  between  the  Illinois  Central  Company,  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  City  of  Chicago  as  represented  by  the 
Mayor,  the  chairman  of  your  committee  and  the  chairman  of  your  sub- 
committee." 

Aid.  Geigee  :  I  would  like  to  ask  the  gentleman  one  ques- 
tion: if  that  is  not  the  case  in  all  opinions  given  by  the  Cor- 
poration Counsel? 

Mr.  CoMEEPOED :     I  believe  it  is. 

Aid.  Geigee:     Why  should  you  refer  to  it*as  an  exception? 

Mr.  Comeefoed:  I  do  not  refer  to  it  as  an  exception.  I 
refer  to  it  because  it  emphasizes  the  fact  that  this  is  the  proper 
place  to  present  questions  involving  the  wisdom  and  good  pub- 

U.OFtLl.LIB. 


52 

lie  policy  of  the  ordinance  and  that  the  Corporation  Counsel  in 
his  opinion  has  affirmatively  disclaimed  any  responsibility  for 
the  wisdom  or  good  public  policy  of  the  ordinance  submitted. 

Aid.  Geiger:  It  never  does  pass  upon  questions  of  public 
policy. 

Mr.  CoMERFOED :  Therefore,  in  the  case  before  us  the  opin- 
ion of  the  Corporation  Counsel's  office  points  to  the  propriety 
of  raising  questions  of  ])ublic  policy  before  this  body. 

Continuing,  I  bog  to  invite  your  attention  to  page  3  of  the 
Corporation  Counsel's  opinion  where  the  following  statement  is 
to  be  found: 

"Other  sections  are  also  ambiguous  and  require  correction,  but  our 
basic  objection  to  the  proposed  ordinance  is  the  blanlvet  ratification  of  the 
contract  of  December  11,  1911,  found  in  Section  1  thereof." 

Again,  on  page  2  of  the  Corporation  Counsel's  opinion,  we 
find  the  follomng: 

"The  proposed  ordinance  as  presented  to  your  committee  is  unsatis- 
factory because  it  contains  a  blanket  ratification  of  the  agreement  between 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company, 
to  which  agreement  the  City  of  Chicago  is  not  a  party.  The  City  of  Chi- 
cago took  no  part  in  the  preparation  of  said  agreement." 

The  ordinance  before  you  at  this  time  is  one  substituted  for 
the  ordinance  presented  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners  with 
the  draft  of  the  contract — 

]\Ir.  Redfield:  The  ordinance  was  not  submitted  by  the 
South  Park  Board. 

Mr.  Comerfoed:  It  was  my  understanding  that  it  came 
from  the  South  Park  Board.  I  may  or  may  not  be  correct  in 
this.  However,  it  will  take  less  time  to  furnish  me  with  the 
fact  than  to  criticise  me  for  my  statement  of  my  understanding 
of  the  origin  of  the  original  ordinance. 

The  fact  still  remains  that  the  ordinance  before  you  in  my 
opinion  amounts  to  a  confirmation  and  ratification  of  the  con- 
tract between  the  South  Park  Board  and  the  Illinois  Central. 
It  is  true  that  in  the  new  ordinance  drafted  by  the  office  of  the 
Corporation  Counsel  the  words  of  specific  confirmation  and 
ratification  have  been  eliminated.  In  other  words,  the  present 
ordinance  does  not  by  recital  affirmatively  confirm  or  ratify  the 
contract  as  contingent  upon  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  by  the 
City  of  Chicago,  that  any  ordinance  passed  by  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago giving  to  the  Illinois  Central  the  right  to  use  the  land 
conferred  on  the  Illinois  Central  by  the  South  Park  Board's 
contract  with  it  for  railroad  purposes  is  in  legal  effect  a  com- 
plete confirmation  and  ratification  of  the  contract.  The  ordi- 
nance and  contract  are  interdependent  and  must  be  construed 
together.    Mere  words  of  ratification  could  not  add  anything  to 


53 

the  legal  effect  of  an  ordinance  that  in  fact  ratifies  the  proposed 
contract.  In  other  words,  it  is  my  contention  that  the  ordinance 
before  you  in  its  effect  is  as  much  of  a  ratification  as  it  could  be. 
It  makes  possible  the  contract  between  the  Illinois  Central  and 
the  South  Park  Board. 

Therefore,  in  my  opinion,  it  follows  that  this  committee  in 
considering  the  present  ordinance  should  examine  into  the  con- 
tract between  the  Illinois  Central  and  the  South  Park  Board 
and  determine  whether  or  not  that  contract  is  wise  in  its  pro- 
visions and  is  a  contract  fair  in  its  terms.  There  is  no  distinc- 
tion between  the  citizen  of  Chicago  as  an  individual  and  as  a 
citizen  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  He  is  both.  His  interest  is  the 
coiAmon  good  of  both.  It  is  his  interest  that  you  as  public  offi- 
cials represent. 

There  are  circumstances  connected  with  the  passage  of  this 
ordinance  at  this  time  (and  I  do  not  mean  to  criticise  any  one) 
that  should  receive  your  best  attention  and  should  be  consid- 
ered before  action  is  taken  on  the  ordinance. 

The  public  policy  of  the  State  of  Illinois  is  fixed  and  de- 
clared in  the  enactments  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State. 

The  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois  at  public  expense 
authorized  a  committee  to  investigate  the  title  of  the  Illinois 
Central  to  the  property  at  present  in  its  possession  and  its 
claim  to  riparian  rights  thereunder.  That  committee  has  made 
an  exhaustive,  extensive  and  costly  investigation  of  the  facts 
and  has  made  its  report  to  the  Legislature  of  the  State.  Thou- 
sands of  dollars  of  the  taxpayers'  money  has  been  spent  in  the 
securing  of  the  facts.  The  committee  reported  its  findings  to 
the  General  Assembly  in  the  following  language — I  quote  from 
page  185  of  the  so-called  Chipperfield  Report : 

"The  City  of  Chicago  realizes,  but  apparently  with  utter  indifference, 
that  its  lake  front  from  Fifty-first  Street  to  the  Chicago  River  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  Illinois  Central,  and  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee  that 
of  the  tv/o  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres  which  it  occupies,  its  holdings,  with 
the  exception  of  several  small  tracts,  is  entirely  without  right,  and  exists 
simply  by  forcible  occupation  and  continued  and  vigorous  aggression  that 
has  embraced  all  territory  in  that  vicinity  which  has  not  been  otherwise 
occupied." 

The  report  of  this  committee  was  filed  with  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  Illinois.  The  Legislature  of  this  State  has  ap- 
proved the  findings  of  this  committee  and  has  directed  the  At- 
torney-General, the  supreme  law  officer  of  the  State,  to  prose- 
cute vigorously  a  suit  or  suits  against  the  Illinois  Central  to  re- 
cover to  the  people  the  lake  front  property  which  the  committee 
declared  to  be  unlawfully  held  by  the  Illinois  Central.  An  ap- 
propriation of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  of  public  money  was 
made  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois  and  is  now  being 


54 

expended  for  the  purpose  of  determining  in  the  courts  the  title 
of  the  Illinois  Central  to  the  land,  and  its  claim  to  riparian 
rights,  between  Fifty-first  Street  and  the  Chicago  Eiver. 

At  this  point  I  desire  to  submit  this  question :  Has  any  at- 
torney acting  for  the  City  of  Chicago  examined  the  title  of  the 
Illinois  Central  to  its  present  possessions  and  given  an  opinion 
to  the  city  as  to  the  title  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  its  right 
to  riparian  rights'?  I  cannot  see  any  justification  for  ratifying 
the  proposed  contract  without  an  examination  of  the  title  of  the 
Illinois  Central  to  the  claims  and  properties  it  pretends  in  the 
contract  to  give  as  its  part  of  the  consideration  in  said  con- 
tract. If  a  private  client  should  call  upon  an  attorney  and  sug- 
gest that  he  was  about  to  part  with  a  valuable  consideration  for 
another  man's  title  to  property,  the  lawyer  would  in  every  case 
insist  upon  an  examination  of  the  abstract  to  determine  whether 
or  not  the  person  had  any  title  to  give.  No  man  would  buy  a 
piece  of  property  A\4tliout  a  legal  opinion  based  upon  an  exami- 
nation of  the  abstract  of  title  and  I  cannot  see  any  reason  why 
the  City  of  Chicago  should  consent  to  and  ratify  a  contract  with- 
out first  having  had  an  opinion  from  its  Law  Department  as  to 
the  title  of  the  Illinois  Central  to  the  rights  and  property  it 
promises  to  convey.  Indeed,  a  lawyer  might  be  subject  to  a 
suit  for  damages  should  he,  in  his  private  practice,  advise  his 
client  to  part  with  a  valuable  consideration  for  property  were 
it  found  later  that  the  title  in  the  vendor  was  not  good.  I  am 
frank  to  say  that  from  the  investigation  I  have  made  I  am  ad- 
vised that  no  one  representing  the  City  of  Chicago  has  ever 
made  an  examination  of  the  abstracts  to  determine  whether  or 
not  the  Illinois  Central  has  the  title  to  the  property  between 
Fifty-first  Street  and  Park  Eow.  I  take  it  that  this  matter  is 
both  pertinent  and  of  paramount  importance.  At  this  time  I  am 
not  attempting  to  say  what  the  title  is.  My  point  is  that  the 
City  of  Chicago  should  know  what  it  is  before  ratifying  the  pro- 
posed contract. 

Aid.  Long:  I  would  like  to  ask  you  to  direct  your  argu- 
ment especially  to  the  claim  of  the  Illinois  Central  to  riparian 
rights.  We  do  not  care  so  much  about  the  land,  but  tell  us 
something  about  the  riparian  rights.  That  is  the  essential  thing. 

Mr.  CoMEEEOED :  If  I  may  be  permitted  to  occupy  your  at- 
tention a  few  moments  longer  I  shall  reach  this  department  of 
the  question. 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  would  like  to  put  myself  in  a  position  where  I 
may  be  able  to  know  all  the  facts.  I  believe  the  courtesy  of  the 
committee  should  be  extended  to  the  gentleman  addressing  us. 

Aid.  Long:  My  remarks  were  not  intended  to  be  discour- 
teous.   What  I  requested  was  that  he  address  himself  especially 


55 

to  the  question  of  riparian  rights.  That  is  the  point  we  would 
like  to  hear  discussed  and  the  point  we  are  most  interested  in. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD :    I  expect  to  touch  upon  that. 

Aid.  Long  :  I  simply  wish  to  add,  in  consequence  of  what 
Mr.  Lee  has  said,  that  my  remarks  were  not  intended  to  be  dis- 
courteous, but  were  designed  to  economize  time.  We  are  inter- 
ested in  Mr.  Comerford's  talk,  but  we  would  like  to  have  him 
confine  himself  to  the  issues  in  this  case. 

Aid.  Hey  :  I  want  to  say  this,  that  I  also  want  to  be  placed 
in  a  position  where,  no  matter  what  the  matter  may  be,  as  long 
as  it  pertains  to  this  contract  or  ordinance,  this  committee 
may  be  apprised  of  it,  that  this  committee  may  be  put  in  pos- 
session of  all  of  the  facts,  no  matter  how  remote  they  may  be. 

The  Chairman:  It  is  very  important,  in  my  opinion,  to 
get  the  facts. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD :  I  believe  that  the  Law  Department  of  the 
city  will  advise  you  that  riparian  rights  are  incident  to  a  fee 
simple  title  in  land,  and  that  as  a  consequence  it  is  impossible 
to  discuss  intelligently  the  question  of  riparian  rights  without 
discussing  the  question  of  the  title  to  the  land.  If  I  am  incor- 
rect in  this  statement,  I  believe  that  your  Corporation  Counsel, 
Mr.  Sexton,  will  cheerfully  correct  me.  There  are  seven  recla- 
mation suits  pending  in  the  courts,  and  the  taxpayers  have  been 
called  upon  to  furnish  money  to  prosecute  these  suits.  These 
suits  pending  in  our  courts  are  purposed  to  divest  the  Illinois 
Central  of  its  pretended  title.  The  passage  of  this  ordinance 
and  the  confirmation  of  the  contract  pending  between  the  Illi- 
nois Central  and  the  Park  Board  means  the  abandoning  of  these 
suits  questioning  the  title  of  the  Illinois  Central,  and  an  abso- 
lute confirmance  of  the  Illinois  Central's  title  to  the  lands, 
claims  and  rights  in  controversy.  It  means  the  abandoning  of 
the  law  suits  that  the  city  has  started  in  good  faith — the  law 
suits  no  doubt  begun  upon  the  advice  of  the  city's  good  attor- 
neys, the  law  suits  in  which  the  public  money  has  been  used  in 
preparation  and  presentation  in  court. 

Aid.  Long:  The  Illinois  Central  lands  involve  only  one 
suit. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD :     I  shall  be  glad  to  accept  the  correction. 

Aid.  Long:  The  other  six  suits  are  not  involved  in  this 
controversy;  only  the  lands  between  Grant  Park  and  Fifty- 
first  Street. 

Mr.  Comerford:  The  reason  I  included  all  of  the  pending 
suits  is  that  the  land  between  Grant  Park  and  Fifty-first  Street 
is  part  of  the  land  that  is  the  subject  matter  of  these  suits  and  as 
a  part  of  the  land  is  within  the  findings  of  the  Chipperfield  Ee- 
port.  The  statement  I  made  is  more  comprehensive  as  to  lake 
front  land  than  the  land  that  is  the  subject  matter  before  this 


56 

committee,  but  the  matter  I  am  discussing  does  embrace  every- 
thing that  is  covered  in  the  proposed  contract,  and  more. 

May  I  invite  the  attention  of  this  committee  t'o  another 
matter  of  public  policy  before  taking  up  the  question  of  riparian 
rights  ? 

The  South  Park  Board  is  a  municipal  corporation  created 
by  authority  of  the  State  of  Illinois  and  given  certain  powers 
by  the  State  of  Illinois  tO'  act  as  its  agent.  An  examination  of 
one  of  the  grants  of  power  to  the  South  Park  Board  by  the  leg- 
islature may  cause  even  a  conservative  man  to  become  suspi- 
cious. In  fact,  it  is  the  Act  under  which  the  South  Park  Board 
is  authorized  to  carry  out  the  terms  of  the  present  contract. 

I  am  reading  from  an  Act  of  the  Illinois  General  Assembly 
approved  May  4, 1903,  found  in  the  volume  known  as  South  Park 
Commissioners  Statutes  and  Special  Ordinances,  page  77 : 

"Section  3.  question  of  riparian  rights.  The  riparian  or  other  rights 
of  the  owners  of  land  on  the  shores  adjoining  the  waters  or  rivers  in 
which  it  is  proposed  to  construct  any  such  extension  or  connection,  the  title 
of  the  owners,  if  any  there  be,  of  lands  lying  beneath  such  public  waters 
or  rivers,  and  the  title  of  the  owners  of  any  lands  penetrating  into  such 
public  waters  or  of  any  land  into,  upon  or  over  which  it  is  proposed  to 
construct  such  extension  or  connection  or  viaduct,  bridge  or  tunnel,  may 
be  acquired  by  the  said  Board  of  Park  Commissioners  by  a  contract  with, 
or  deeds  from,  any  such  owner  or  owners,  and  such  Park  Commissioners 
shall  have  the  power  to  pay  for  any  such  rights,  lands  or  territory,  thus 
acquired,  out  of  its  general  revenue." 

Turning  to  page  87  of  the  same  volume  you  will  find  an  in- 
teresting contrast. 

Aid.  Long:     What  are  you  reading  from? 

Mr.  Comerford:  From  an  Act  approved  May  2,  1907,  au- 
thorizing the  Park  Commissioners  to  acquire  and  improve  sub- 
merged and  shore  lands  for  park  purposes.  I  read  that  portion 
of  the  Act  printed  on  page  88  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
Statutes  and  Special  Ordinances: 

"Said  Park  Commissioners  and  said  riparian  owners  are  hereby  au- 
thorized to  agree  upon  a  boundary  line  dividing  the  submerged  lands  ac- 
quired or  to  be  acquired  by  said  Park  Commissioners  and  the  submerged 
lands  to  be  taken,  owned  and  used  by  said  riparian  owners  in  lieu  of 
and  as  compensation  for  the  release  of  said  riparian  rights  to  said  Park 
Commissioners.  In  case  any  of  such  owners  or  persons  interested  are  non 
sui  juris,  or  in  case  any  of  such  owners  or  persons  interested  are  unknown, 
proceedings  may  be  had  to  condemn  their  riparian  rights  and  the  lands 
owned  by  them  or  in  which  they  may  be  interested,  according  to  the  pro- 
visions of  an  Act  entitled  'An  Act  to  provide  for  the  exercise  of  the  right 
of  eminent  domain,'  and  amendments  thereto." 

Analyzing  these  two  sections,  one  conclusion  is  forced  upon 
me  and  that  is  that  this  legislation  was  procured  by  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  and  that  it  was  procured  in  the  form 
here  stated  for  a  specific  reason.  Odd,  is  it  not,  that  in  the 
cases  where  the  owners  of  rights,  riparian  or  other  rights,  are 


57 

unknown  or  are  non  sui  juris,  the  Legislature  confers  upon  the 
Board  of  South  Park  Commissioners  the  right  to  go  into  court 
and  by  condemnation  acquire  such  property  or  rights  as  may 
be  needed  for  park  purposes'?  This  means  an  adjudication  of 
the  title  to  the  riparian  rights  or  rights  of  every  kind,  and  a 
fixing  by  law  of  the  value  of  the  rights.  Where  the  person  is 
unknown  and  is  sui  juris,  the  park  board  has  no  right  to  go 
into  a  court  and  have  an  adjudication  of  the  person's  claims  and 
the  value  of  the  same  affixed,  and  has  but  one  recourse,  namely, 
to  contract  with  the  person.  Who  comes  within  this  exception? 
The  Illinois  Central  is  known.  It  claims  riparian  rights  and 
other  property  rights.  It  is  sui  juris.  Therefore  the  Park 
Board  under  the  statute  has  not  the  right  to  force  it  to  show 
the  grounds  for  its  claims  to  property  rights  and  riparian  rights 
to  secure  an  adjudication  of  its  claims  in  a  court.  The  Illinois 
Central  is  put  in  the  position  of  arbitrarily  forcing  the  South 
Park  Board  to  cash  its  claims  without  a  determination  of  the 
validity  of  those  claims.  Who  will  account  and  explain  tliis 
joker?  This  bit  of  legislation  is  consistent  with  most  of  the 
legislation  affecting  the  Illinois  Central.  It  is  in  keeping  with 
the  law  that  was  passed  in  '69  and  vetoed  by  Governor  Palmer, 
but  passed  over  his  veto,  known  as  the  "Lake  Front  Act";  the 
Act  under  which  the  Illinois  Central  attempted  to  claim  the  per- 
petual fee  to  land,  the  property  of  the  State ;  an  Act  that  was, 
as  introduced,  intended  to  convey  land  to  the  City  of  Cliicago, 
and  during  its  passage  was  amended  by  substituting  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  for  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  at- 
tempting to  convey  the  land  to  the  Illinois  Central ;  an  Act  that 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court  held  to  be  beyond  the  power 
of  the  legislature  and  that  was  repealed  in  response  to  an  indig- 
nant protest  of  an  outraged  people.  Who  is  responsible  for  the 
failure  of  this  act  to  give  the  South  Park  Board  the  right  to 
proceed  by  condemnation  and  have  adjudicated  the  Illinois 
*  Central's  claims  to  property  and  riparian  rights'?  Why  was 
this  joker  included  in  the  Act  unless  because  the  Illinois  Central 
knew  that  its  claims  were  not  bona  fide  and  that  they  were  not 
passing  the  scrutiny  of  a  condemnation  proceeding'? 

Aid.  Long:    Were  you  in  the  Legislature  at  the  time  that 
Act  was  passed'? 

Mr.  Comerfoed:    I  was  not. 

Aid.  Long:     I  thought  you  might  be  able  to  enlighten  us 
upon  the  subject. 

Mr.  Comerfoed:     I  do  not  think  your  observation  is  ma- 
terial to  the  issue  before  us. 

Aid.  Long  :    I  trust  you  will  not  put  a  wrong  interpretation 
upon  my  remark.    That  was  not  intended. 

Mr.  Comerfoed  :    Another  matter  as  a  preface  to  my  taking 


k 


58 

up  the  main  subject,  unmely,  the  contract  may  serve  as  indicat- 
ing the  public  policy  of  the  people  of  this  State,  as  expressed 
by  the  Legislature,  toward  matters  germain  to  the  subject  here. 
I  read  from  page  18-4  of  the  Session  Laws  of  the  Forty- 
seventh  General  Assembly: 

"Section  VII,  of  an  Act  approved  June  10.  1911:  If  in  the  construction 
of  any  harbor,  wharf,  canal,  dock,  pier,  slips,  levee  or  other  harbor  facility 
or  improvement  mentioned  in  this  Act.  it  becomes  necessary  to  effect  any 
of  the  rights  of  riparian  owners  along  any  public  waters,  or  to  take  any 
property  belonging  thereto,  such  city  shall  have  the  right  to  acquire  same 
by  condemnation,  but  nothing  in  this  Act  shall  give  any  such  city  the  right 
to  give  compensation  to  any  alleged  riparian  owner  who  is  not  in  fact  the 
owner  of  said  land  or  who  has  unlawfully  acquired  title  thereto  by  posses- 
sion or  by  making  or  filling  the  same,  and  such  city  shall  make  a  careful 
scrutiny  of  the  title  to  each  and  every  person  so  claiming  compensation, 
to  the  end  that  no  person  shall  receive  compensation  for  lands  or  rights 
which  already  belong  to  the  State  of  Illinois." 

This  is  the  message  of  the  people  through  its  General  As- 
sembly. The  only  voice  by  which  the  people  can  speak  has 
spoken  in  the  words  above  read.  Are  these  words  being  heeded? 
Have  we  complied  with  the  commands  stated  in  Section  VII? 
Will  anyone  deny  that  it  is  our  duty  to  obey  this  good  and  wise 
public  policy  expressed  in  Section  7  of  the  Act? 

But  we  must  proceed  to  a  consideration  of  the  contract  be- 
tween the  South  Park  Board  and  the  Illinois  Central,  and  in 
considering  it  I  shall  first  address  myself  to  the  question:  What 
does  the  Illinois  Central  propose  to  give  to  the  people?  This 
may  be,  and  I  believe  it,  an  incorrect  statement  of  the  proposi- 
tion. The  question  should  be:  What  has  the  Illinois  Central  to 
give  that  it  promises  to  give  in  the  contract? 

First,  I  ask  what  title  or  titles  has  the  Illinois  Central  to 
the  present  land  occu]ued  by  it?  I  have  been  unable  to  find  any 
opinion  of  title  furnished  tlie  public  in  connection  with  this  en- 
tire matter.  We  know  that  the  Chipperfield  Report  states  that 
the  Illinois  Central  is  without  any  lawful  title  to  the  property 
it  now  occupies  between  Fifty-first  Street  and  the  river,  except 
a  few  small  parcels  thereof.  We  know  that  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  has  approved  this  finding.  We  have  no  right  to  pre- 
sume that  the  Legislature  is  without  the  facts  in  making  this 
decision.  We  know  that  the  Legislature  has  directed  the  Attor- 
ney-General to  institute  proceedings  on  the  theory  that  the 
Illinois  Central  is  without  title  to  its  present  right  of  way  be- 
tween Fifty-first  Street  and  the  river.  We  know  that  $25,000 
has  been  appropriated ;  that  attorneys  have  been  retained ;  that 
investigation  has  been  made  and  that  the  matter  is  for  deter- 
mination in  our  courts.  By  the  contract  you  are  asked  to  ratify, 
the  people  will  be  forever  in  the  future  estopped  from  asserting 
their  rightful  claims  against  the  Illinois  Central.  The  wrong 
to  the  people  will  be  without  remedy.    The  Illinois  Central  will, 


I 


59 

after  the  making  of  this  contract,  have  an  established  title  that 
cannot  be  questioned.  The  ratification  of  the  contract  means 
an  abandoning-  of  the  finding  of  the  Chipperfield  Comniittee  and 
the  snit  of  the  people  directed  by  that  committee.  Therefore  the 
first  consideration  passing  to  the  Illinois  Central  is  good  title 
to  its  present  holdings — a  quit  claim,  so  to  speak,  and  all  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  we  have  no  evidence  tJiat  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral's claims  to  title  have  any  merit,  while  on  the  contrary  we 
have  the  specific  assurance  of  the  Chipperfield  Eeport  that  they 
are  without  any  claim  to  title,  unless  it  be  that  of  unlawful  pos- 
session of  the  property  of  the  State. 

Any  land  that  the  Illinois  Central  purchased  the  foe  simple 
title  to  between  Fifty-first  Street  and  Grant  Park,  that  is  in 
actual  contact  with  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  is  the  ]iro]ierty 
of  the  Illinois  Central,  and  incident  to  that  ownership  the  Illinois 
Central  possessed  riparian  rights.  I  am  advised,  and  I  will  not 
assert  that  I  may  not  be  misinformed,  that  the  Illinois  Central 
owns  only  a  very  small  part  or  parcel  of  the  land  between  Grant 
Park  and  Fifty-first  Street  by  purchase.  This  small  portion 
of  land  to  which  the  Illinois  Central  has  a  fee  simple  title,  and 
as  a  consequence,  riparian  rights,  I  desire  to  speak  of  at  this 
time.  What  is  necessary  to  riparian  rights  and  what  do  wo 
mean  by  riparian  rights?  Two  things  are  necessary,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  to  riparian 
rights.  First,  an  ownership  to  the  fee  of  land ;  second,  that  the 
land  must  not  only  be  contigiious  but  must  be  in  actual  contact 
with  the  waters. 

What  do  we  mean  by  riparian  rights?  The  United  States 
Supreme  Court  has  said  that  riparian  rights  consist  in  the  right 
to  the  natural  accretions,  and  second,  to  the  right  to  either  build 
a  wharf  or  pier  to  the  point  of  navigation  or  to  bring  the  point 
of  navigation  to  the  shore  line  by  excavating  and  making  a 
harbor.  In  other  words,  the  claim  of  riparian  rights  is  only  in 
a  person  holding  the  fee  simple  title  to  property  when  that  ])rop- 
erty  is  in  contact  with  the  water,  and  that  the  person  owning 
riparian  rights  has  the  right  to  such  land  as  may  be  added  to 
his  by  natural  accretion,  and  a  right  or  easement  to  the  point 
of  navigation. 

Of  the  other  lands  composing  the  present  right  of  way  of 
the  Illinois  Central  to  which  it  claims  title  other  than  by  pur- 
chase, we  must  look  in  examining  its  claim  to  title,  to  the  State 
grant.  The  Illinois  Central  sets  up  its  claim  to  title  under  Sec- 
tion 3  of  its  charter.  It  may  be  well  at  this  time  to  read  the 
section. 

"The  said  corporation  shall  have  right  of  way  upon  and  may  appropriate 
to  its  sole  use  and  control  for  the  purposes  contemplated  herein,  land  not 
exceeding  200  feet  in  width  through  its  entire  length,  may  enter  upon  and 


60 

take  possession  of  and  use  all  and  singular  any  lands,  streams  and  materials 
of  every  kind  for  the  location  of  depots  and  stopping  stages,  for  the  purpose 
of  constructing  bridges,  dams,  embankments,  excavations,  station  grounds, 
spoil  banks,  turn-outs,  engine  houses,  shops,  and  other  buildings  necessary 
for  the  construction,  completing,  altering,  maintaining,  preserving  and  com- 
plete operation  of  said  road.  All  such  lands,  waters,  materials  and  privileges 
belonging  to  the  State  are  hereby  granted  to  said  corporation  for  said  pur- 
poses, but  when  owned  or  belonging  to  any  person,  company  or  corporation 
and  cannot  be  obtained  by  voluntary  grant  or  release,  the  same  may  be 
taken  and  paid  for  if  any  damages  are  awarded  in  the  manner  provided  in 
'An  Act  to  provide  for  a  general  system  of  railroad  incorporation'  approved 
November  5,  1849,  and  the  final  decision  or  award  shall  vest  in  the  corpo- 
ration hereby  created  all  the  rights,  franchises,  provided  that  nothing  in 
this  section  contained  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  authorize  the  said  corpo- 
ration to  interrupt  the  navigation  of  said  streams." 

Under  the  grant  I  contend  that  the  Illinois  Central  had  the 
right  to  use  for  railroad  purposes  only  a  strip  200  feet  in  mdth 
of  any  land  of  the  State  of  Illinois  necessary  to  its  right  of  way. 
In  the  constructing  of  the  road  I  am  advised  that  much  of  the 
right  of  way  between  Fifty-first  Street  and  Grant  Park  was 
built  in  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan.  This  land  known  as  sub- 
merged land  was  the  property  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  This  has 
since  been  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  both  the  United 
States  and  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  I  take  it  there  is  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion  on  this  point.  The  question  then  suggests  it- 
self: Did  the  Illinois  Central  take  title  to  submerged  land  it 
used  in  the  building  of  its  right  of  way  under  the  grant  from 
the  State?  It  is  my  opinion  that  it  did  not,  that  it  does  not 
now  possess  title  to  such  land  as,  at  the  time  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  road,  was  submerged  land,  and  in  support  of  my 
contention  I  point  to  the  fact  that  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State  of  Illinois  has  held  that  Lake  Michigan  is  not  a  stream 
within  the  meaning  of  the  word  as  used  in  Section  3  of  the  grant. 
After  discussing  the  matter  at  great  length,  the  Illinois  Su- 
preme Court  held  "we  are  therefore  of  the  opinion  that  the 
grant  in  Section  3,  'all  such  lands,  waters,  materials  and  priv- 
ileges belonging  to  the  State  are  hereby  granted  to  said  corpora- 
tion for  said  purposes  did  not  include  lands  covered  by  the  wa- 
ters of  Lake  Michigan.'  "  If  this  is  true  the  Illinois  Central  in 
building  on  submerged  lands  built  on  lands  never  granted  to 
the  Illinois  Central,  and  was  and  is  a  trespasser.  The  fact  that 
the  Illinois  Central  subsequently  filled  in  these  lands,  I  do  not 
believe  has  conferred  any  title  on  the  Illinois  Central  to  the 
lands  filled  in.  The  land  under  water  belongs  to  the  State ;  being 
filled  in  by  artificial  means  it  would,  when  it  became  land  above 
the  water,  be  the  land  of  the  State.  To  such  land — and  I  am  ad- 
vised a  considerable  part  of  the  land  between  Fifty-first  Street 
and  Grand  Park  comes  within  the  foregoing — the  Illinois  Central 
is  without  any  title. 

It  remains  then  but  to  consider  such  land  between  Fifty- 


61 

first  Street  and  Grant  Park,  to  which  the  State  had  title,  and 
which  was  not  submerged  land,  and  on  which  the  Illinois  Central 
built  its  right  of  way.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
has  held  that  the  grant  to  the  Illinois  Central  was  not  a  grant 
of  fee  simple  title,  the  court  holding  that  the  Illinois  Central 
was  but  a  licensee  with  the  right  to  use  the  land  within  the  limits 
of  the  grant,  namely,  for  railroad  purposes.  It  has  been  further 
held  that  the  right  of  licensee  does  not  carry  with  it  riparian 
rights;  that  the  riparian  rights  are  incident  to  the  ownership 
of  the  fee.  It  follows  then  that  the  only  riparian  rights  the 
Illinois  Central  has  is  to  the  land  between  Fifty-first  Street  and 
Grant  Park  to  which  it  has  a  fee  simple  title  by  purchase,  or. 
such  riparian  rights  as  it  may  have  acquired  by  purchase.  Let 
us  know  exactly  what  parcels  of  land  come  within  this  definition 
by  an  examination  of  the  abstracts  of  title. 

The  submerged  land  upon  which  the  Illinois  Central  built 
its  road  and  claims  title  to  under  the  grant  from  the  State  is,  in 
my  judgment,  a  claim  that  is  not  well  founded,  and  until  some 
final  court  has  passed  squarely  upon  this  point,  I  believe  it  is 
the  duty  of  this  committee  so  to  hold. 

To  such  other  parcels  of  land  between  Fifty-first  Street  and 
Grant  Park  as  the  Illinois  Central  may  have  built  on  under  the 
grant  of  the  State,  that  at  the  time  was  not  submerged  land,  it 
is  my  opinion  that  the  Illinois  Central  did  not  take  title  to  the 
same  in  fee  simple,  but  merely  as  a  licensee,  and,  under  the  de- 
cision of  the  courts,  to  this  land,  and  as  the  licensee,  the  Illinois 
Central  would  have  no  riparian  rights. 

Aid.  Long:    Can  I  interrupt  you  I 

Mr.  Comeeford:    Yes,  sir. 

Aid.  Long  :  Assuming  that  what  you  say  is  correct  so  far  as 
you  go,  how  would  you  answer  the  claim  of  the  Illinois  Central 
to  the  riparian  ownership  of  the  land  that  it  has  acquired  by 
purchase  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street? 

Mr.  Comerford:  If  you  will  make  the  statement  as  a  fact 
that  the  Illinois  Central  owns  the  fee  to  the  entire  shore  line, 
then  I  will  say  that  it  has  riparian  rights  incident  to  that  fee, 
but  unless  you  have  an  abstract  of  title  to  show  the  people  of 
Chicago,  and  have  examined  the  same,  you  cannot  make  that 
statement,  I  am  waiting  to  hear  some  one  make  the  statement 
that  the  Illinois  Central  has  the  fee  to  the  shore  line,  and  then 
I  will  admit  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  riparian  rights.  So 
far  as  I  can  learn,  the  question  you  ask  is  predicated  on  a  hy- 
pothesis that  is  not  the  fact  in  this  case. 

Mr.  Redfield:    Have  you  examined  the  abstracts  of  title? 

Mr.  Comerford:    I  have  not. 

Mr.  Redfield  :    I  have. 

Mr.  Comerford  :    I  have  not  seen  an  opinion  from  any  one 


62 

connected  with  the  present  matter  giving  the  details  of  the 
title.  I  mean  a  legal  opinion  such  as  one  would  insist  upon  in  a 
private  transaction  when  purchasing  property  rights.  One  other 
proposition  in  this  connection  I  think  should  be  considered,  and 
that  refers  back  to  the  exercise  of  riparian  rights  to  the  small 
portions  of  land  between  Fifty-first  Street  and  Grant  Park  that 
the  Chipperfield  Eeport  states  the  fee  is  in  the  Illinois  Central, 
and  as  a  consequence,  to  which  it  has  riparian  rights.  I  make 
the  point  that  if  I  own  a  piece  of  property  in  contact  with  the 
water  of  Lake  Michigan  I  have  riparian  rights  incident  to  my 
fee  title  to  the  land,  but  as  I  have  stated  before  that  right  is 
merely  a  right  to  use  the  water  front  by  the  building  of  a  wharf 
or  pier  or  harbor  that  will  bring  me  to  the  point  of  naviga- 
tion. I  would  not  have  the  right  to  build  the  pier  ostensibly  for 
this  purpose  and  then  build  a  flat  building  and  a  department 
store  for  my  own  profit.  My  use  of  the  water  front  is  limited, 
and  on  this  point  there  is  no  room  for  dispute.  If,  as  such  an 
owner  of  a  parcel  of  property,  I  should  fill  in  submerged  land 
of  the  lake,  it  is  my  opinion  that  submerged  land  being  the 
property  of  the  State  would,  upon  becoming  made  land  by  arti- 
ficial means,  still  be  the  property  of  the  State,  and  that  if  by 
my  own  act  I  was  responsible  in  my  trespass  on  the  State's  land 
for  cutting  off  my  contact  with  the  lake,  I  would  have  forfeited 
and  abandoned  my  riparian  rights,  and'  the  riparian  rights 
would  attach  to  the  artificially  made  land  that  was  in  contact 
with  the  water  front  and  was  the  property  of  the  State.  I  base 
this  opinion  on  what  appears  to  be  sound  morals,  and  I  believe 
the  principle  is  a  correct  one. 

Aid.  Long  :    I  have  never  found  a  case  like  that. 

Mr.  Comerford:  I  shall  be  frank  with  you.  Alderman.  I 
do  not  know  of  any  case  making  such  a  holding,  but  I  believe 
that  the  proposition  sounds  in  good  morals  and  in  good  con- 
science. I  want  no  better  ground  for  a  legal  opinion  than  good 
morals  and  good  conscience,  and  until  I  can  find  the  decision  of 
a  final  court  holding  directly  to  the  contrary,  I  shall  hold  that 
this  is  a  safe  legal  proposition.  Even  w^hen  courts  have  by 
reckless  reasoning  made  findings  of  law  contrary  to  good  morals 
and  good  conscience,  we  find  that  such  precedents  do  not  long 
survive. 

My  proposition  is  that  you  are  asked  to  ratify  a  contract, 

First,  without  any  legal  opinion  given  to  the  people  of  the 
State  of  Illinois  showing  that  the  claims  of  the  Illinois  Central 
which  are  to  be  turned  over  as  its  consideration  for  the  con- 
tract, are  anything  but  mere  claims  without  any  foundation  in 
law; 

Second,  that  you  are  asked  to  violate  the  public  policy  of  the 
State  expressed  in  the  Chipperfield  Report ; 


63 

Third,  you  are  asked  to  consent  that  the  Park  Board,  as 
the  agent  of  the  State,  make  a  contract  giving  the  title  forever 
to  the  present  holdings  of  the  Illinois  Central  that  are  at  present 
the  subject  of  litigation  and  that  have  never  been  determined  in 
a  court. 

You  are  asked  to  ratify  a  contract  that  gives  to  the  Illinois 
Central  not  only  what  has  been  here  above  enumerated,  but  in 
addition  thereto  a  strip  of  land  250  feet  in  width  and  about  4^ 
miles  in  length,  embracing,  as  I  am  advised,  approximately  150 
acres  of  land  with  a  value  of  approximately  $20,000,000. 

The  South  Park  Board,  in  addition  to  this,  is  to  pay  all  the 
expense  of  providing  a  new  location  for  the  city's  Thirty-ninth 
Street  Pumping  Station. 

And  even  more,  the  South  Park  Board  is  to  pay  one-half  of 
all  adverse  claims  that  may  be  purchased  by  the  Illinois  Central 
in  making  perfect  its  title.  Even  in  this  procedure,  the  Illinois 
Central  first  has  the  right  to  do  the  purchasing  of  adverse  claims 
and  to  call  upon  the  Park  Board,  after  notice  given  to  said  Park 
Board  of  the  agreed-upon  price,  to  pay  one-half  of  said  adverse 
claims. 

In  consideration  for  this,  the  Illinois  Central,  so  far  as  we 
know,  at  this  time  gives  nothing  but  land  in  the  vicinity  of  its 
depot  site  at  Park  Eow  with  a  value  of  less  than  $4,000,000. 

In  the  contract  we  find  some  suggestion  of  possible  future 
electrification  by  the  Illinois  Central,  but  here  again  upon  close 
examination  we  discover  that  no  promise  is  made  that  the  Illi- 
nois Central  will  ever  electrify. 

The  advantages  of  a  City  Beautiful  cannot  be  denied.  The 
advantage  of  locating  the  Field  Museum  downtown  and  the  car- 
rying out  of  the  lake  boulevard  plan  will  greatly  benefit  the  City 
of  Chicago,  but  the  point  I  make  is  that  we  should  not  pay  the 
Illinois  Central  for  rights  and  claims  that  the  Illinois  Central 
does  not  possess. 

I  want  to  thank  the  gentlemen  of  the  committee  for  the 
courtesy  extended  to  me,  and  to  apologize,  although  at  this  tardy 
moment,  for  my  presentation  of  this  matter  in  a  more  or  less 
disconnected  manner.  My  attention  was  not  called  to  this  mat- 
ter until  within  the  last  forty-eight  hours,  and  while  I  have 
tried  to  make  some  examination  of  the  matters  set  forth  above 
within  that  time,  I  am  frank  to  state  that  I  have  not  had  the 
time  that  the  subject  requires  and  that  the  claiming  of  your  at- 
tention warrants,  but  I  think  the  surface  findings  in  this  mat- 
ter indicate  that  the  consent  and  ratification  of  the  Common 
Council  should  not  be  given  to  this  contract. 

I  am  waiting  to  see  some  official  representing  the  people 
make  a  statement  of  exactly  what  the  people  of  Chicago  and  of 
the  State  of  Illinois  are  receiving  from  the  Illinois  Central  for 
the  magnificent  consideration  the  Illinois  Central  is  receiving. 


66 

Gentlemen,  the  City  of  Chicago  gets  not  one  penny  from 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  for  fire  and  police  protection.  Under 
the  law  under  which  the  Illinois  Central  was  chartered,  the  State 
gets  seven  per  cent,  revenue  from  the  Illinois  Central,  and  Chi- 
cago gets  nothing.  In  taking  it  upon  themselves  to  give  the 
Illinois  Central  14.5  acres  of  land  with  the  privilege  of  erecting 
yards  thereon,  and  placing  freight  cars  thereon,  the  responsi- 
bility rests  upon  the  City  of  Chicago  to  give  it  police  and  fire 
protection,  and  in  case  of  riots,  under  a  decision  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  the  City  of  Chicago  can  foot  the  bill. 
Now,  gentlemen,  it  seems  to  me  it  would  be  better  to  have  such 
railroad  yards  located  somewhere  else. 

"The  Small  Park  Commission  is  requested  to  express  its  opinion  on  the 
probability  of  plantation  growth  in,  and  the  utility  and  desirability  of  the 
proposed  parkway  along  the  railroad  right  of  way  as  widened,  and  the  ad- 
visability of  spending  money  in  building  an  outer  parkway  as  compared 
with  more  parks  in  the  residential  districts." 

It  was  not  very  many  years  ago — about  fourteen  or  fifteen — 
when  we  had  pictured  to  us  a  beautiful  grove  in  Grant  Park — 
what  it  was  going  to  be.  You  can  see  what  it  is  if  you  read 
the  report  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners.  You  will  find 
it  is  stated  that  they  cannot  make  the  trees  and  flowers  grow 
because  of  the  smoke.  Now  you  are  proposing  to  locate  a  boule- 
vard adjacent  to  a  yard  400  feet  wide  and  expect  flowers  and 
trees  and  shrubs  to  grow. 

Aid.  Long  :    It  will  be  660  feet  wide  at  the  widest  part. 

Mr.  VanVlissingen  :  Another  point,  suppose  this  parkway 
is  put  along  the  lake  shore.  It  could  only  be  reached  by  via- 
ducts with  spans  450  to  650  feet  in  width.  There  will  have  to 
be  an  approach  to  the  driveway.  It  will  not  only  be  a  question 
of  450  feet  of  span,  you  will  have  to  have  your  approaches  to 
it.  You  will  have  to  drive  a  quarter  of  a  mile  on  your  ap- 
proaches. 

"The  Health  Department  is  requested  to  determine  whether  the  ordi- 
nance and  contract  adequately  protect  the  public  health  and  the  drinking 
water  against  injurious  effects  through  the  filling  and  lake  dredging." 

There  is  not  a  line  in  this  ordinance  that  gives  the  Health 
Departm.ent  power  or  makes  anj^  restriction  at  all  as  to  what 
they  may  fill  with  or  how  they  shall  fill,  whether  they  shall  leave 
stagnant  pools  there.    There  is  no  control  by  the  city  at  all. 

"The  Fire  Marshal  is  requested  to  outline  the  increase  in  fire  hazard, 
if  any,  which  may  be  occasioned  to  the  city  by  the  railroad's  use  of  the 
additional  land  as  a  freight  yard,  and  what  provision  should  be  incorpo- 
rated in  said  ordinance  for  the  protection  of  the  city  against  such  addi- 
tional hazard." 

I  am  not  a  fire  expert.  I  think  the  committee  should  be 
advised  on  this  subject  by  the  fire  department. 


67 

"The  Chief  of  Police  is  requested  to  estimate  the  effect  of  such  a  yard 
on  local  police  conditions  in  the  adjoining  residence  districts. 

The  Harbor  and  Subway  Commission  is  requested  to  give  its  opinion 
whether  the  future  outer  harbor  necessities  of  Chicago  are  amply  provided 
for. 

And  all  the  executive  and  departmental  offices  of  the  city  are  hereby 
requested  to  give  such  further  information,  suggestions  and  recommenda- 
tions on  all  angles  and  phases  of  this  matter,  as  to  each  may  seem  helpful 
to  this  committee  in  arriving  at  a  conclusion  in  the  interests  of  the  health, 
property  and  prosperity  of  the  citizens  of  Chicago." 

Gentlemen,  you  have  appointed  a  staff  of  experts  who  can 
advise  yoii  on  points  that  I  have  referred  to  better  than  an  out- 
side citizen  can.  All  that  this  resolution  does  is  to  ask  you  as 
a  committee  to  refer  to  the  department  best  qualified  to  pass 
upon  the  subject,  whether  tJiis  improvement  is  harmful  or  dan- 
gerous or  beneficial. 

Mr.  Thomas  M.  Sullivan  (member  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  the  Sanitary  District) :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  represent  the 
Sanitary  District,  and  our  attorney  is  here  and  he  wishes  to 
speak  to  you  on  the  matter  of  the  Tliirty-ninth  Street  Pumping 
Station. 

Mr.  John  C.  Williams:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  not  going  to 
take  but  a  moment  of  your  time.  I  am  not  going  to  discuss  the 
general  policy  of  the  ordinance.  I  am  not  familiar  enough  with 
its  terms.  I  know  that  the  committee  is  more  capable  than  my- 
self to  do  so,  even  if  I  had  given  a  great  deal  of  consideration 
to  it.  Only  a  short  time  ago  my  attention  was  called  to  the  ordi- 
nance. I  have  only  one  point  that  I  wish  to  call  to  the  attention 
of  the  committee.  It  is  in  connection  with  a  possible  sewer.  I 
would  like  to  have  the  chief  engineer  of  the  district  speak  to 
the  committee  about  a  plan  he  has  in  mind  that  should  be  pre- 
served and  conser\^ed  by  a  provision  in  the  ordinance.  The  point 
that  I  wish  to  call  to  the  attention  of  the  committee  is  found  on 
page  20  of  the  short  pamphlet,  in  Section  9,  beginning  at  the 
bottom  of  page  19.* 

"The  City  of  Chicago  agrees  that  whenever  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners shall,  without  any  expense  to  said  city,  provide  for  said  city  a  pumj)- 
ing  station  and  site  therefor  in  lieu  of  the  present  Thirty-ninth  Street 
Pumping  Station,  acceptable  to  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict of  Chicago,  then  the  said  City  of  Chicago  shall  transfer  and  convey 
to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  the  tract  of  land  known  as  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Street  Pumping  Station,  including  the  improvements  thereof,  as 
specifically  described  in  Section  2  of  this  ordinance." 

The  only  proposition  I  wish  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the 
committee  is  this:  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station  is 
now  operated  by  the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  at  its  own 
expense.  It  became  available  by  reason  of  the  Thirty-ninth 
Street  conduit  which  has  been  built  from  the  south  branch  of 

*See  Appendix. 


66 

Gentlemen,  the  City  of  Chicago  gets  not  one  penny  from 
the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  for  fire  and  police  protection.  Under 
the  law  under  which  the  Illinois  Central  was  chartered,  the  State 
gets  seven  per  cent,  revenue  from  the  Illinois  Central,  and  Chi- 
cago gets  nothing.  In  taking  it  upon  themselves  to  give  the 
Illinois  Central  145  acres  of  land  with  the  privilege  of  erecting 
yards  thereon,  and  placing  freight  cars  thereon,  the  responsi- 
bility rests  upon  the  City  of  Chicago  to  give  it  police  and  fire 
protection,  and  in  case  of  riots,  under  a  decision  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  the  City  of  Chicago  can  foot  the  bill. 
Now,  gentlemen,  it  seems  to  me  it  would  be  better  to  have  such 
railroad  yards  located  somewhere  else. 

"The  Small  Park  Commission  is  requested  to  express  its  opinion  on  the 
probability  of  plantation  growth  in,  and  the  utility  and  desirability  of  the 
proposed  parkway  along  the  railroad  right  of  way  as  widened,  and  the  ad- 
visability of  spending  money  in  building  an  outer  parkway  as  compared 
with  more  parks  in  the  residential  districts." 

It  was  not  very  many  years  ago — about  fourteen  or  fifteen — 
when  we  had  pictured  to  us  a  beautiful  grove  in  Grant  Park — 
what  it  was  going  to  be.  You  can  see  what  it  is  if  you  read 
the  report  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners.  You  will  find 
it  is  stated  that  they  cannot  make  the  trees  and  flowers  grow 
because  of  the  smoke.  Now  you  are  proposing  to  locate  a  boule- 
vard adjacent  to  a  yard  400  feet  wide  and  expect  flowers  and 
trees  and  shrubs  to  grow. 

Aid.  Long  :    It  will  be  660  feet  wide  at  the  widest  part. 

Mr.  VanVlissingen  :  Another  point,  suppose  this  parkway 
is  put  along  the  lake  shore.  It  could  only  be  reached  by  via- 
ducts with  spans  450  to  650  feet  in  width.  There  will  have  to 
be  an  approach  to  the  driveway.  It  will  not  only  be  a  question 
of  450  feet  of  span,  you  will  have  to  have  your  approaches  to 
it.  You  will  have  to  drive  a  quarter  of  a  mile  on  your  ap- 
proaches. 

"The  Health  Department  is  requested  to  determine  whether  the  ordi- 
nance and  contract  adequately  protect  the  public  health  and  the  drinking 
water  against  injurious  effects  through  the  filling  and  lake  dredging." 

There  is  not  a  line  in  this  ordinance  that  gives  the  Health 
Department  power  or  makes  any  restriction  at  all  as  to  what 
they  may  fill  with  or  how  they  shall  fill,  whether  they  shall  leave 
stagnant  pools  there.    There  is  no  control  by  the  city  at  all. 

"The  Fire  Marshal  is  requested  to  outline  the  increase  in  fire  hazard, 
if  any,  which  may  be  occasioned  to  the  city  by  the  railroad's  use  of  the 
additional  land  as  a  freight  yard,  and  what  provision  should  be  incorpo- 
rated in  said  ordinance  for  the  protection  of  the  city  against  such  addi- 
tional hazard." 

I  am  not  a  fire  expert.  I  think  the  committee  should  be 
advised  on  this  subject  by  the  fire  department. 


67 

"The  Chief  of  Police  is  requested  to  estimate  the  effect  of  such  a  yard 
on  local  police  conditions  in  the  adjoining  residence  districts. 

The  Harbor  and  Subway  Commission  is  requested  to  give  its  opinion 
whether  the  future  outer  harbor  necessities  of  Chicago  are  amply  provided 
for. 

And  all  the  executive  and  departmental  offices  of  the  city  are  hereby 
requested  to  give  such  further  information,  suggestions  and  recommenda- 
tions on  all  angles  and  phases  of  this  matter,  as  to  each  may  seem  helpful 
to  this  committee  in  arriving  at  a  conclusion  in  the  interests  of  the  health, 
property  and  prosperity  of  the  citizens  of  Chicago." 

Gentlemen,  you  have  appointed  a  staff  of  experts  who  can 
advise  yon  on  points  that  I  liave  referred  to  better  than  an  out- 
side citizen  can.  All  that  this  resolution  does  is  to  ask  you  as 
a  committee  to  refer  to  the  department  best  qualified  to  pass 
upon  the  subject,  whether  this  improvement  is  harmful  or  dan- 
gerous or  beneficial. 

Mr.  Thomas  M.  Sullivan  (member  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  the  Sanitary  District) :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  represent  the 
Sanitary  District,  and  our  attorney  is  here  and  he  wishes  to 
speak  to  you  on  the  matter  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping 
Station. 

Mr.  John  C.  Williams:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  not  going  to 
take  but  a  moment  of  your  time.  I  am  not  going  to  discuss  the 
general  policy  of  the  ordinance.  I  am  not  familiar  enough  with 
its  terms.  I  know  that  the  committee  is  more  capable  than  my- 
self to  do  so,  even  if  I  had  given  a  great  deal  of  consideration 
to  it.  Only  a  short  time  ago  my  attention  was  called  to  the  ordi- 
nance. I  have  only  one  point  that  I  wish  to  call  to  the  attention 
of  the  committee.  It  is  in  connection  with  a  possible  sewer.  I 
would  like  to  have  the  chief  engineer  of  the  district  speak  to 
the  committee  about  a  plan  he  has  in  mind  that  should  be  pre- 
served and  conserved  by  a  provision  in  the  ordinance.  The  point 
that  I  wish  to  call  to  the  attention  of  the  committee  is  found  on 
page  20  of  the  short  pamphlet,  in  Section  9,  beginning  at  the 
bottom  of  page  19.* 

"The  City  of  Chicago  agrees  that  whenever  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners shall,  without  any  expense  to  said  city,  provide  for  said  city  a  pump- 
ing station  and  site  therefor  in  lieu  of  the  present  Thirty-ninth  Street 
Pumping  Station,  acceptable  to  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict of  Chicago,  then  the  said  City  of  Chicago  shall  transfer  and  convey 
to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  the  tract  of  land  known  as  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Street  Pumping  Station,  including  the  improvements  thereof,  as 
specifically  described  in  Section  2  of  this  ordinance." 

The  only  proposition  I  wish  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the 
committee  is  this:  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station  is 
now  operated  by  the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  at  its  own 
expense.  It  became  available  by  reason  of  the  Thirty-ninth 
Street  conduit  which  has  been  built  from  the  south  branch  of 

*See  Appendix. 


68 

the  Chicago  Kiver  to  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station, 
at  its  present  location.  The  City  of  Chicago  paid  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  cost  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station, 
and  the  Sanitary  District  paid  a  certain  portion,  40  per  cent.,  I 
think.  It  is  operated  now  at  the  expense  of  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict. Both  the  City  and  the  Sanitary  District  are  interested 
in  the  pumping  station.  Now  it  appealed  to  us  as  being  a  fair 
proijosition  that  if  this  pumping  station  should  be  moved  out 
into  the  lake  300  feet  or  600  feet  or  half  a  mile  or  whatever  dis- 
tance, then  the  title  to  the  present  site  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Street 
Station  should  be  conveyed  by  the  city  to  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners with  the  understanding  that  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners should  extend  the  present  Thirty-ninth  Street  Sta- 
tion before  that  transfer  is  made.  In  other  words,  before  the 
Sanitary  District  took  possession  of  a  new  site,  that  it  should 
be  put  in  the  same  position  it  is  at  the  present  time.  I  merely 
submit  that  for  the  consideration  of  the  committee.  If  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  desire  to  move  the  pumping  station  to  an- 
other site,  they  should  rebuild  or  build  such  additional  part  of 
the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station  as  is  necessary  to  con- 
nect it  with  the  new  pumping  station  wherever  it  may  be  lo- 
cated. 

Aid.  Long:  Don't  you  think. that  would  necessarily  follow 
from  the  phraseology  of  the  ordinance? 

Mr.  Williams  :  It  was  very  doubtful  to  me  when  I  read  it. 
It  would  be  easy  to  say  so  now.  It  might  be  difficult  to  con- 
sider it  afterwards.  If  it  went  in  now,  there  could  be  no  contro- 
versy about  it. 

Aid.  Long:  It  was  the  object  of  the  framers  of  this  ordi- 
nance to  cover  that  specific  point. 

Mr.  Williams:  It  may  be  covered  now,  but  it  seemed  to 
be  ambiguous,  and  I  thought  now  was  the  time  to  correct  it 
rather  than  hereafter. 

Aid.  Long  :  Will  you  prepare  an  amendment  covering  your 
point? 

Mr.  Williams  :  I  will  be  glad  to  prepare  an  amendment  to 
this  section. 

Aid.  Long:    Will  that  be  satisfactory,  Mr.  Chairman? 

The  Chairman:    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  George  M.  Wisner  (Chief  Engineer  of  the  Sanitary 
District) :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  do  not  think  there  will  be  any  trou- 
ble on  this  point,  although  there  is  nothing  put  in  the  ordinance 
to  cover  this.  Possibly  it  would  be  safer  to  have  it  done.  You 
know  the  government  officials  are  attempting  to  cut  down  the 
use  of  water  by  the  Sanitary  District,  and  we  are  preparing  to 
take  care  of  the  sewage  in  some  other  way.  It  is  also  shown  that 
there  are  too  many  solids  going  into  the  canal  and  we  have  pre- 
pared a  report — a  tentative  plan — by  which  it  was  intended  to 


69 

put  in  settling  basins  in  connection  with  an  intercepting  sewer 
that  comes  from  the  south.  I  do  not  want  to  get  the  committee 
scared  about  our  sewer  treatment  plant  because  it  can  be  en- 
tirely covered  and  can  work  in  with  the  parkway  scheme. 

Aid.  Long  :    Mr.  Wisner,  have  you  your  plans  with  you  1 

Mr.  WiSNER :  Yes,  sir.  I  will  leave  them  with  the  commit- 
tee. In  order  properly  to  take  care  of  this,  there  should  be  a 
reservation  made  outside  of  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way 
by  which  2,600  feet  along  the  lake  shore  and  about  1,000  feet  out 
into  the  lake  are  reserved  for  this  future  development.  I  have 
a  sketch  here  which  shows  what  we  need  roughly ;  and  in  con- 
nection with  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station  the  Sani- 
tary District  owns  the  width  of  the  pumping  station  and  the 
submerged  rights  for  1,000  feet  into  the  lake.  If  the  pumping 
station  is  pushed  out  into  the  lake  we  want  our  property  rights 
extended. 

After  consulting  the  various  experts  of  New  York  City  and 
people  who  have  made  a  study  of  water  purification,  they  uni- 
versally agree  that  every  large  city  on  the  Great  Lakes  will  want 
all  of  its  water  filtered.    I  think  personally  it  will  come  to  pass. 

The  same  kind  of  reservation  should  be  made  in  the  vicinity 
of  Fourteenth  Street,  so  that  the  city  can,  if  it  desires,  put  in  a 
filtration  plant  there.  These  can  be  made  beautiful.  It  will 
not  interfere  with  the  plans  of  the  South  Park  Board  for  a 
street,  and  it  seems  only  wise  at  this  point  to  make  reservation 
— to  make  that  reservation,  that  it  can  be  used  in  connection 
with  public  works. 

Aid.  Long  :  I  would  suggest  that  Mr.  Williams  be  requested 
to  favor  this  committee  with  an  amendment  to  this  ordinance 
embodying  the  suggestions  of  Mr.  Wisner  as  well  as  his  own. 

Mr.  Williams  :    Yes,  Alderman. 

Aid.  Long:  I  take  it  there  is  no  objection  on  the  part  of 
any  one  to  these  amendments  being  made? 

Mr.  Wisner:  Would  you  like  anything  about  Fourteenth 
Street? 

Aid.  Long  :  Yes,  I  would  suggest  that  Mr.  Williams  include 
in  his  amendment  a  provision  for  Mr.  Wisner 's  proposed  im- 
provement at  Fourteenth  Street. 

Mr.  Williams:  Will  it  be  satisfactory  for  me  to  submit 
the  amendments  to  the  Corporation  Counsel? 

The  Chairman  :    Yes,  sir,  that  is  very  nice. 

Mr.  Joel  W.  Stevens  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  represent  the  origi- 
nal owners  of  Lake  Michigan  and  everything  lying  east  of  the 
meander  line  of  the  Survey  of  1821 — the  Pottawatomee  and  the 
Chippewa  Indians.  I  will  talk  fast.  My  brother  Comerford  is 
right  in  some  respects.  To  some  of  his  remarks  I  take  excep- 
tion. He  says  that  it  has  been  held  that  the  State  of  Illinois 
owns  the  title  to  the  lands  east  of  the  meander  line  subject  to 


70 

the  use  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan.  I  take  exception  to 
that.  In  the  first  place,  in  the  contract  of  1795  the  Indians  made 
a  contract  with  Uncle  Sam — I  will  call  it  Uncle  Sam  because 
that  is  shorter  than  the  United  States ;  in  1821  under  this  propo- 
sition the  United  States  Grovernment  sent  surveyors  here  to 
survey  the  part  of  the  northwestern  territory  which  in  this  part 
is  called  the  State  of  Illinois.  They  came  here.  They  started 
and  surveyed  this  land  from  the  Mississippi  River.  They  went 
to  the  center  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  the  difference  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  boundary  and  the  Lake  Michigan  bound- 
ary is  that  there  are  riparian  rights  on  the  Mississippi  River, 
but  none  on  Lake  Michigan,  because  that  was  a  fixed  boundary. 
A  man  who  owns  land  on  the  Mississippi  River  has  a  right  to 
build  wharves  or  anything  else  in  the  Mississippi  River  as  long 
as  he  does  not  interfere  with  commerce  upon  that  river.  On 
Lake  Michigan  the  meander  line  strikes  Michigan  avenue  at 
the  intersection  of  Madison  street  and  then  it  runs  south  to  the 
Twelfth  Street  Station  of  the  Illinois  Central;  fifty  feet  east  of 
the  west  wall  of  the  Twelfth  Street  Station  is  where  the  meander 
line  strikes  that  depot,  according  to  the  Chipperfield  Report,  a 
large  one,  about  three  volumes.  I  have  read  law  from  all  over 
the  United  States.  I  have  read  English  law  and  I  have  read 
law  every  place  that  I  could  find  it  and  am  still  reading  it.  You 
will  remember  hearing  that  a  long  time  ago  there  was  a  grant 
entered  or  given  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois  to  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad — to  fill  in  one  mile  from  the  shore 
line.  What  happened  in  that  case?  There  was  an  injunction 
prayed  in  the  courts  of  Cook  County,  and  Judge  Freeman,  who 
is  now  sitting  on  the  Appellate  bench,  denied  the  injunction  to 
stop  the  City  of  Chicago  from  interfering  with  the  police  power 
when  they  were  filling  in  the  lake  from  east  of  their  shops  out 
there.  That  case  went  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois and  Judge  Freeman  was  sustained. 

Now  when  Uncle  Sam  bought  this  part  of  the  land  from  the. 
Indians  there  was  a  fixed  boundary  line  there.  The  only  agree- 
ment that  the  United  States  had  with  the  Indians  in  the  propo- 
sition or  anything  else  that  you  can  find  anywhere,  either  in 
Washington  or  Springfield,  is  that  Uncle  Sam  has  the  right  of 
commerce  and  navigation  over  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan.  I 
will  challenge  any  one  here,  whether  he  is  a  lawyer  or  a  layman, 
to  find  anything  different  from  what  I  say.  If  he  does  I  will 
apologize  to  this  committee  any  time  and  any  place.  I  have 
been  over  it  veiy  carefully.  Here  is  the  policy  of  it — the  Su- 
preme Court  says  that  the  State  of  Illinois  holds  it  in  trust.  For 
what?  The  State  of  Illinois  has  no  right,  title  or  interest,  and 
cannot  convey  any  right  or  legal  title  to  any  lands  that  were 
not  granted  to  them  by  a  sovereign  power,  and  that  was  the 
United  States  at  that  time.    That  is  a  rule  that  has  held  and  is 


I 


I 


71 

still  being  lield — that  a  grantor  cannot  convey  anything  that  he 
does  not  own.  I  wanted  to  bring  this  to  you,  gentlemen — to  your^ 
attention,  for  this  reason:  I  have  recently  gotten  into  this 
case  in  what  I  would  call  black  and  white,  under  a  contract  to, 
represent  those  Indians.  Those  are  Indian  tribes  still  in  exist- 
ence. They  have  always  been  in  existence  and  I  am  representing 
them  now,  with  other  gentlemen,  and  within  the  near  future  we 
expect  to  start  a  suit  in  this  vicinity. 

Now  what  is  going  to  happen?  We  have  no  controversy 
with  the  South  Park  Board  or  the  Illinois  Central  people  at  all, 
or  the  people  of  Chicago,  but  I  just  thought  it  was  my  duty  to 
tell  you  gentlemen  this,  so  that  you  would  know  about  these 
suits  that  will  be  started.  I  am  not  a  boy  any  more.  I  am  not 
a  man  who  goes  off  half  cocked.  I  want  to  get  it  right.  When  I 
get  my  data  all  together  and  get  things  sifted  down  right  we 
will  start  those  suits.  Here  is  the  proposition  in  a  nut  shell: 
If  the  State  of  Illinois  did  not  acquire  the  title  to  that  land 
east  of  the  meander  line — the  lake  shore,  they  have  no  right  to 
it,  if  the  United  States  did  not  get  it.  They  bought  the  best 
land  from  the  Indians  out  here  at  so  much  an  acre.  They  had 
it  surveyed.  They  had  a  meeting  between  the  Indians — between 
the  Indian  Chief  and  the  white  people.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  his- 
tory, but  it  is  a  long  time  and  we  have  gone  back  some  time,  but 
I  can  produce  people  in  the  City  of  Chicago  that  hunted  and 
fished  over  there  at  the  time  that  meander  line  was  drawn 
in  1821. 

Here  is  another  thing  I  want  to  say  to  you,  gentlemen :  One 
of  these  cases  between  the  city,  I  think,  and  the  Illinois  Central 
was  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County,  and  this  was  when  the 
Honorable  Judge  Tuley  was  sitting  in  the  courthouse  here  and 
the  judge  said:    ''Gentlemen,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  make  a 

suggestion "  I  said — I  asked  him  what  it  was.     He  says: 

''If  you  will  take  my  advice,  you  gentlemen  will  build  a  stone 
wall  between  you  and  stop  fighting. ' '  He  says  :  "  It  is  my  opin- 
ion that  some  day  people  will  be  produced  here  that  will  claim 
and  xjrove  a  legal  title  to  that  land  east  of  the  meander  line  and 
they  will  oust  both  of  you. ' ' 

The  Chairman  :  Then,  Mr.  Stevens,  the  South  Park  Board 
ought  to  have  entered  into  a  contract  with  the  Indians  to  get 
title,  in  order  to  consummate  this  whole  deal. 

Mr.  Stevens  :    I  think  that  is  about  right. 

Mr.  Redfield  :  You  dig  up  the  Indians  and  we  will  do  busi- 
ness. 

Mr.  Stevens  :  I  have  tried  to  be  brief  about  this.  Now  there 
is  all  kinds  of  law  on  these  riparian  rights.  There  are  no  ripa- 
rian rights  on  the  lake  front  for  this  reason:  As  Mr.  Comer- 
ford  said  the  riparian  rights  mean  natural  accretion.  The 
courts  have  held  time  and  again  in  this  country  and  foreign  coun- 


72 

tries  that  accretions  must  come  natural;  they  cannot  be  made 
by  a  dock;  they  cannot  be  made  by  a  wharf;  they  cannot  be 
made  by  something  outside  of  the  shore  line,  and  that  Chipper- 
field  Eeport  says  that  with  the  exception  of  about  four  or  five 
pieces  of  land  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street,  the  Illi- 
nois Central  never  had  title  to  but  a  small  parcel  of  land.  Now 
if  that  was  not  true,  do  you  think  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illi- 
nois would  have  sustained  Judge  Freeman  in  that  injunction  suit 
when  the  City  of  Chicago  went  in  there?  The  City  of  Chicago 
sent  its  police  officers  over  there  and  stopped  them  from  filling, 
in  the  lake  front.  They  were  working  night  and  day.  Q^'hey  had 
electric  light  and  they  were  bringing  in  trainloads  and  dumping 
it  along  there.  They  went  in  and  asked  Freeman  for  an  injunc- 
tion and  Freeman  denied  it.  They  went  to  the  Supreme  Court. 
I  want  to  ask  you  something — if  the  Illinois  Central  grant  from 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois  would  not  hold,  do  you 
think  any  ordinance  put  up  by  the  City  of  Chicago  would  stand 
in  this  matter?    I  cannot  see  it. 

Aid.  Lo:NrG :  It  would  not  affect  your  clients  one  way  or  the 
other. 

Mr.  Stevens  :    It  may  never  affect  my  clients. 

Aid.  Long:  If  it  would  not  stand,  you  would  be  all  the 
better  oif . 

Mr.  Stevens  :  I  am  putting  this  up  to  clear  the  situation.  If 
that  grant  from  the  State  of  Illinois  would  not  stand,  how  can 
this  ordinance  stand?  This  body  is  not  a  greater  body  than  the 
Legislature.  The  Act  under  which  you  gentlemen  are  acting  is 
created  by  a  sovereign  body.  It  is  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  Illinois  under  the  Village  and  City  Act.  Now  that  grant  from 
the  State  of  Illinois  to  the  Illinois  Central  reads  like  this:  ''On 
or  near  the  shore  line."  When  they  got  a  grant  from  the  State 
of  Illinois  to  put  piling  on  that  right  of  way  from  Twelfth  Street 
to  Randolph  Street,  the  water  varied  from  5  to  9^  feet.  You 
can  see  what  they  have  been  doing  down  there.  Some  of  you 
gentlemen  will  probably  remember  the  old  Exposition  building 
that  used  to  stand  on  the  lake  front.  I  was  in  that  building  for 
two  years — a  part  of  two  years.  I  was  the  engineer  of  that 
building  for  two  years.  We  had  a  well  sunk  in  the  building  and 
we  had  a  small  tunnel  back  out  to  the  lake,  just  the  other  side  of 
the  tracks,  which  was  a  switch  yard  at  that  time,  but  just  on  the 
outside  of  the  tracks  every  once  in  a  while  we  had  to  put  a  stone 
pile  in  front  to  keep  out  sticks.  I  used  to  go  down  there  to 
help  them  clear  that  away.  The  water  would  run  into  that  Ex- 
position building. 

Another  thing  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to :  two  years 
ago  the  twentieth  day  of  this  month, the  Corporation  Counsel's 
office — this  is  shown  by  the  Chipperfield  Report — was  asked  to 


73 

give  an  immediate  opinion.  There  was  an  opinion  asked  of  the 
Corporation  Counsel's  office. 

The  Chairman  :  I  was  going  to  say  there  was  a  communi- 
cation received  by  the  City  Council — it  was  not  signed  by  you — 
ahd  that  communication  was  sent  to  this  committee  and  sent  by 
this  committee  to  the  Corjooration  Counsel  for  an  opinion  as  to 
the  title  there — from  the  Indians. 

Mr.  Stevens  :  I  want  to  say  right  now  that  I  know  nothing 
about  that. 

The  Chairman  :  It  was  sent  to  the  Corporation  Counsel.  I 
wanted  to  advise  you  of  that. 

Mr.  Stevens:    That  is  another  question  then. 

Tlie  Chairman:  I  did  not  want  to  be  discourteous  at  all, 
but  the  matter  of  the  Indians'  claim  to  title  there  was  sent  to  the 
Council,  and  from  this  committee  was  sent  to  the  Corporation 
Counsel's  office.    We  will  know  what  to  do,  perhaps. 

Mr.  George  A.  Hyees:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen:  I 
want  to  say  to  this  committee  that  the  proposition  that  is  sub- 
mitted to  us  here  affects  the  property  owners  of  the  South  Side, 
and  I  am  one  of  the  property  owners.  I  was  one  of  the  Smoke 
Commission,  to  try  to  do  away  with  the  smoke  of  the  Illinois 
Central. 

We  do  not  look  with  favor  on  the  proposition  to  give  the 
Illinois  Central  200  or  250  feet  more  right  of  way  on  the  sur- 
face. I  talked  with  Mr.  Donnersberger,  one  of  the  commission- 
ers, about  what  the  commission  did  with  the  Illinois  Central, 
and  I  do  not  believe  that  they  tried  to  do  anything.  They  said 
that  they  stood  like  two  dogs  watching  a  bone ;  one  was  afraid 
to  move  for  fear  the  other  got  the  bone. 

Now,  my  proposition  is,  to  submit  this  ordinance  back  to 
the  South  Park  Commissioners,  and  let  them  try  again,  be- 
cause if  they  built  us  a  boulevard  on  the  South  Side  and  put  the 
Illinois  Central  in  a  subway,  connectiug  up  the  parks  and  the 
streets  between  them,  and  not  have  a  lot  of  viaducts  across  to 
the  lake,  then  we  would  have  a  boulevard  which  would  be  a 
credit  to  the  people  of  Chicago,  But,  with  400  feet,  or  450  feet, 
of  smoky  tracks  between  the  people  and  the  lake — or  perhajjs 
650  feet,  as  you  are  talking  of  now,  why  we  would  be  that  much 
further  away  from  the  lake,  and  we  would  have  doul)le  the 
smoke  nuisance  that  we  are  enduring  now  on  the  South  Side. 

I  am  one  of  the  South  Side  property  owners  who  has 
been  paying  25  per  cent,  of  my  taxes  for  the  last  two  years,  25 
or  30  per  cent  of  the  gross  receipts  of  my  real  estate  for  taxes. 
At  the  same  time,  I  believe  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  put  the 
Illinois  Central  in  the  subway,  and  give  us  a  boulevard  right 
over  the  right  of  way,  connecting  the  streets  and  parks  along 
the  South  Side,  and  the  place  opened  up  to  the  lake.  Then  we 
would  have  a  ''City  Beautiful"  on  the  South  Side.  Because  400 


74 

or  600  feet  between  the  shore  line  and  the  park  line — to  leave  400 
to  600  feet  between  the  shore  line  and  the  park  line,  would  be 
putting  us  farther  from  the  lake,  and  you  are  depreciating  the 
value  of  South  Side  property.    There  is  no  question  about  that. 

We  are  the  property  owners  on  the  South  Side,  and  we  want 
to  do  away  with  the  smoke.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  car- 
ries its  trains  from  Jersey  City  to  New  York  with  electric  en- 
gines. I  have  here  in  my  pocket  now  an  article  that  I  cut  out 
of  the  paper  the  other  day,  where  the  T7nited  States  Govern- 
ment is  making  a  contract  for  forty  engines  to  carry  boats 
through  the  Panama  Canal  locks,  costing  about  $500,000.  The 
Illinois  Central  could  use  electric  engines  just  as  well  as  they 
can,  and  the  Illinois  Central  could  use  electric  engines  just  as 
well  as  they  do  in  that  subway  in  Baltimore  where  they  carry 
the  cars  in  a  tunnel  from  Baltimore  to  "Washington.  They  have 
been  doing  that  for  twenty  years. 

I  believe  the  thing  to  do  is  to  re-commit  this  ordinance,  and 
send  it  back  to  the  Illinois  Central  and  to  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners, and  let  them  give  us  a  boulevard  which  is  really  a 
boulevard.  Let  us  have  a  boulevard,  and  we  can  have  it  by  put- 
ting the  Illinois  Central  in  the  subway,  and  the  material  you 
take  out  by  putting  tliem  down  in  the  subway,  you  could  use  to 
cover  the  approaches,  the  concrete  approaches,  which  would 
last  forever.  Then  we  would  have  a  boulevard  which  connects 
on  a  straight  line  to  the  lake,  and  everybody  would  have  access 
to  it. 

Tliat  is  all  I  have  to  say.  I  represent  the  Woman's  Club. 
I  thank  you. 

The  Chairman  :    We  will  now  hear  from  Mr.  Allen  B.  Pond. 

Mr.  Pond:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  desire  to  present  a  petition 
from  certain  citizens  whose  names  I  will  read.     I  will  read  it. 

The  Chairman  :    We  will  be  glad  to  listen  to  it. 

Mr.  Pond  read  the  following : 

Chicago,  January  23,  1912. 
To  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  Chicago: 

The  undersigned  citizens  protest  against  the  approval  by  the  City 
Council  of  the  agreement  between  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  and  the 
South  Park  Commissioners,  dealing  with  the  lake  front. 

The  signers  of  this  statement  believe  in  lake  front  park  development 
They  fully  concede  the  public  spirit  and  good  motives  of  the  citizens  and 
park  officials  who  urge  the  ratification  of  the  agreement.  In  formulating 
the  plans  for  lake  front  improvement  these  men  have  rendered  a  great 
service  to  the  community.  They  have  labored  earnestly  to  make  the  best 
bargain  they  could,  but  they  have  labored  under  a  disability.  That  this 
disability  can  be  removed  and  that  the  public  can  then  obtain  the  substan- 
tial advantages  of  the  present  plan  without  its  obvious  disadvantages  is  the 
belief  of  the  undersigned. 

By  the  terms  of  this  agreement,  the  purpose  of  which,  from  the  public 
point  of  view,  is  the  creation  of  a  lake  front  park  and  the  securing  of  a 
central  site  for  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  is  given  perpetual  title  and  ownership  to  162  acres  of  land  on  the 
lake  front,  east  of  its  present  right  of  way.     Of  this,  120  acres  are  sub- 


75 

merged  lands  which  must  be  filled  in,  and  42  acres  are  made  lands,  which 
the  state  asserts,  in  a  pending  suit,  have  been  wrongfully  filled  in  and  occu- 
pied by  the  company.  In  addition,  the  city  will  vacate,  for  depot  purposes, 
Indiana  Avenue  between  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth  Streets  and  part  of  an 
alley  in  the  same  block,  a  total  of  20,000  square  feet.  For  a  distance  of 
about  two  miles  the  enlarged  right  of  way  will  be  660  feet  wide,  accommo- 
dating forty-five  to  fifty  tracks.  The  company  can  build  structures  of  any 
kind  on  the  land  acquired  here.  The  balance  of  the  way  to  Fifty-first 
Street,  the  width  will  run  from  400  to  450  feet.  This  unsightly  freight  yard, 
with  its  smoke,  noise  and  dirt,  will  border  the  proposed  park  throughout 
its  length,  and  will  be  a  barrier  to  the  park  which  can  be  crossed  only  by 
long  and  costly  viaducts. 

In  return  for  grants  by  the  people  the  Illinois  Central  gives  to  the 
public  the  following  lands:  Land  fronting  55  feet  on  Park  Row  and  155 
feet  on  Twelfth  Street,  now  occupied  by  depot  and  office  building,  and  a 
strip  85  feet  wide  on  the  south  side  of  Twelfth  Street  from  Michigan  Avenue 
to  Indiana  Avenue,  aggregating  39,000  square  feet;  the  pier  at  Thirteenth 
Street,  containing  7%  acres,  and  3  acres  east  of  the  proposed  right  of  way 
between  Thirty-seventh  and  Thirty-ninth  Streets,  which  is  part  of  the  lands 
covered  by  the  suit  of  the  State.  The  company  also  gives  up  its  riparian 
rights,  which  are  stated  to  cover  nine-tenths  of  the  distance  from  Twelfth 
Street  to  Fifty-first  Street.  The  cost  of  acquiring  the  remaining  one-tenth 
is  to  be  divided  between  the  Park  Board  and  the  railroad  company. 

The  value  of  lands  which  the  company  gives  up  are  estimated  by  Mr. 
Donnersberger  of  the  South  Park  Board  as  follows:  Thirteenth  Street  pier, 
$1,500,000;   depot  site  and  85-foot  strip   (39,000  sq.  ft),  $2,000,000. 

The  riparian  frontage  of  the  Illinois  Central,  assuming  that  it  has 
riparian  rights  on  all  the  lands  involved  in  the  suit  with  the  State,  and 
making  no  deductions  for  street  ends  which  extend  to  the  lake,  is  about 
21,500  feet.  Some  2,200  feet  of  riparian  frontage  near  Twenty-fifth  Street, 
belonging  to  private  owners,  was  valued  not  long  since  by  Mr.  Donnersber- 
ger, for  inheritance  tax  purposes,  at  $20.00  per  foot,  and  the  owners  ob- 
jected to  this  as  too  high.  It  might  be  even  less  in  a  condemnation  pro- 
ceeding. As  to  this,  expert  advice  should  be  secured.  But  figured  at  $20.00 
per  foot  the  riparian  rights  of  the  Illinois  Central  would  be  worth  $430,000. 
This  gives  a  grand  total  of  $3,930,000  as  the  value  of  the  property  given  to 
the  public. 

As  far  as  we  can  learn,  no  official  estimate  has  ever  been  made  of  the 
value  of  the  lands  which  the  public  gives  to  the  company.  That  the  Council 
should  have  full  information  as  to  the  value  of  these  lands  for  railroad 
and  other  purposes  would  seem  to  admit  of  no  argument.  We  are  able  to 
arrive  at  the  value  of  the  land  which  the  railroad  gets  only  by  comparing 
it  with  the  value  fixed  for  the  land  which  it  gives  up.  Mr.  Donnersberger 
values  the  71/0  acres  in  the  Thirteenth  Street  pier  at  $1,500,000  or  $200,000 
per  acre,  or  about  $4.50  per  square  foot.  If  there  be  deducted  from  the 
total  value  the  cost  of  building  and  filling  the  pier,  there  is  left  $1,300,000 
as  the  value  of  the  submerged  land,  or  $3.98  per  square  foot.  Figured  at 
$3.00,  162  acres,  containing  something  over  7,000,000  square  feet,  would  be 
worth  $21,000,000.  When  we  consider  the  central  location  of  the  terminal, 
its  convenient  arrangement  and  connections,  and  its  freedom  from  grade 
crossings  throughout  its  entire  length,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  very 
great  money  value.  In  addition,  the  company  is  given  20,000  square  feet 
of  streets  and  alleys  for  depot  purposes.  At  the  low  value  of  $10.00  per 
square  foot,  this  would  amount  to  $200,000,  giving  a  grand  total  of 
$21,200,000. 


76 

To  sum  up,  the  Illinois  Central  gets: 

162  acres $21,000,000 

20,000  square  feet  street  and  alley  vacated 200,000 

Total   $21,200,000 

The  public  gets: 

Thirteenth  Street  pier $  1,500,000 

Depot  site    and    85-foot    strip,    aggregating  39,000 

square  feet  2,000,000 

Nine-tenths   riparian  rights 430,000 

Total   $  3,930,000 

Balance  in  favor  Illinois  Central $17,270,000 

This  balance  is  a  bonus  over  and  above  the  values  of  the  property  sur- 
rendered, which  the  Illinois  Central  forces  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
to  concede  as  the  price  of  being  allowed  to  proceed  promptly  with  these  great 
public  improvements. 

The  ordinance  pending  in  the  Council  gives  the  consent  of  the  city  to 
the  perpetual  use  for  railway  purposes,  of  the  lands  granted,  and  also  gives 
rights  of  connection  and  rearrangement  of  tracks  to  the  St.  Charles  Air 
Line  at  Sixteenth  Street. 

In  other  words,  this  ordinance  gives  to  the  Illinois  Central  Company 
the  right  to  create  and  control  great  trackage  yards  on  the  lake  front,  far 
in  excess  of  its  own  needs,  immediate  or  prospective,  for  railroad  purpose. 
If  it  be  the  idea  to  lease  portions  of  this  trackage  to  other  railroads,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  railroad  nuisance  on  the  lake  front  will  be  greatly 
magnified.  Moreover,  the  Illinois  Central  will  be  able  to  dictate  the  terms 
on  which  other  railroads  may  enter  the  city  by  this  approach.  The  ordi- 
nance does  not  obligate  the  company  to  electrify  its  terminals,  either  in  the 
near  or  remote  future,  and  a  great  freight  yard  at  this  point  would  add 
enormous  diflBculties  to  the  problem  of  electrification.  It  is  unlikely  that 
vegetation  can  be  made  to  grow  successfully  in  the  park  if  the  smoke  nui- 
sance is  unchecked,  especially  if  the  number  of  smoke-using  locomotives  be 
increased. 

There  are  many  objections  to  the  pending  ordinance.  The  two  main 
ones  are  as  follows: 

1.  The  bargain  embodied  in  the  ordinance  is  very  one-sided. 

2.  Lake  front  park  development  and  the  beautification  will  be  inter- 
fered with  by  the  continuance  of  the  smoke  nuisance  and  the  creation  of 
more  trackage  area  to  be  crossed  to  reach  the  park  and  the  facilities  located 
thereon. 

No  official  estimates  have  been  made  of  the  value  of  the  land  turned 
over  to  the  Illinois  Central,  but  obviously  it  exceeds  by  millions  of  dollars 
the  value  of  the  land  and  the  riparian  rights  which  the  company  turns  over 
to  the  city.  Those  favoring  the  agreement  defend  it  on  the  ground  that 
the  Illinois  Central  controls  riparian  rights  which  the  Park  Board  must 
acquire  before  it  can  proceed.  These  rights  the  Park  Board  cannot  condemn, 
but  can  acquire  only  by  agreement.  If  the  Park  Board  had  the  power  to  con- 
demn these  riparian  rights,  it  could  do  much  better  than  enter  into  this 
bargain. 

And  why  has  not  the  South  Park  Board,  to  which  the  Legislature  in 
1907  granted  title  to  the  submerged  lands,  this  power  of  condemnation 
which  was  granted  to  the  Lincoln  Park  Board  many  years  ago?  Solely 
because  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  had  more  influence  with  the  Legis- 
lature than  the  citizens  of  Chicago. 

The  riparian  rights  of  the  company  were  purchased  by  it  from  property 
owners,  presumably  at  small  cost.  Under  condemnation  proceedings  these 
riparian  rights  would  have  little  value,  either  in  law  or  in  equity.  Accord- 
ing to  the  decisions  of  our  Supreme  Court  the  rights  of  a  riparian  owner 


77 

are  merely  the  right  to  such  natural  accretions  or  additional  land  as  the 
•waters  may  add  to  his  shore,  and  the  right  of  access  to  the  waters  of  the 
lake.  On  the  shore  in  question  there  is  no  accretion;  on  the  contrary,  there 
is  constant  erosion  necessitating  the  maintenance  of  protecting  break- 
waters. The  damage  which  the  railroad  could  show  in  a  condemnation  suit 
to  deprive  it  of  this  right  would  be  extremely  small. 

The  signers  of  this  statement  hold  that  it  is  immoral  and  greatly  sub- 
versive of  public  rights  to  permit  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
to  capitalize,  for  its  own  enormous  enrichment,  its  control  of  the  legisla- 
tures of  this  State.  Once  before,  this  corporation  sought,  through  its  con- 
trol of  the  notorious  Legislature  of  1869,  to  increase  its  holdings  on  the  lake 
front.  It  succeeded  in  part,  but  popular  indignation  forced  the  repeal  of 
this  legislation  in  1873. 

We  believe  that  those  who  negotiated  this  agreement  with  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  have  been  unduly  timid  and  lacking  in  confi- 
dence in  the  power  of  aroused  public  sentiment.  They  do  not  realize  the 
temper  of  the  people  of  this  great  democratic  community,  who,  when  occa- 
sion arose,  forced  from  unwilling  legislatures  the  grant  of  power  to  deal 
with  street  railway,  gas  and  other  public  service  questions,  in  the  manner 
that  seemed  to  them  right.  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  is  not  nearly  so 
well  entrenched  today  as  Yerkes  appeared  to  be  when  he  was  using  the 
Illinois  Legislature  for  his  purposes,  to  the  injury  of  the  people  of  Chicago. 
We  believe  that  if  the  issue  is  presented  clearly  to  the  people,  so  that  they 
understand  the  full  significance  of  what  is  involved,  the  next  Legislature 
will  give  to  the  city  or  the  South  Park  Commissioners  the  powers  of  con- 
demnation that  are  needed. 

We  do  not  believe  the  people  want  to  pay  tribute  to  corporation  control 
of  the  Legislature  as  the  price  of  the  beautification  of  their  own  property. 
The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  has  had  a  lobby  at  Springfield  to  prevent 
legislation  looking  to  railroad  terminal  electrification.  Must  the  community, 
before  it  can  have  the  electrification  that  is  necessary  to  the  beautification 
and  pleasurable  use  of  the  lake  front  park,  hereafter  grant  the  Illinois 
Central  another  large  slice  of  the  lake  front? 

The  undersigned  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  present  200  foot  right  of 
way  of  the  Illinois  Central  should  not  be  widened.  Such  small  tracts  of 
land  and  riparian  rights  owned  by  the  Illinois  Central,  as  are  needed  for 
park  development,  should  be  taken  and  paid  for  in  money  at  their  fair 
value.  If  the  Illinois  Central  will  not  negotiate  on  these  terms,  the  next 
move  should  be  to  inaugurate  a  campaign  to  secure  from  the  Legislature, 
to  be  chosen  this  fall,  such  powers  of  condemnation  as  are  needed. 

It  is  true  that  if  the  public  is  forced  to  this  course  it  will  mean  some 
delay  in  carrying  out  the  proposed  plans,  and  may  make  it  impossible  to 
secure  the  Field  Museum  for  the  lake  front;  but  the  museum  will  not  be 
lost  to  the  city  by  locating  it  at  Jackson  Park,  as  originally  intended;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  city  will  get  what  it  wants  at  a  fair  price,  and  will 
keep  the  lake  front  free  from  the  disfigurement  and  intolerable  nuisance 
of  a  great  freight  yard — a  real  barrier  to  the  people's  full  enjoyment  of  the 
new  parkway  and  the  lake. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Allen  B.  Pond, 
Morton  D.  Hull, 
Lessing  Rosenthal, 
Joseph  Cummins, 
Robert  Catherwood, 
Charles  E.  Merriam, 
Samuel  Dauchy, 
George  C.  Sikes, 
Thomas  W.  Swan, 
Jens  Jensen, 
F.  B.  Johnstone 


78 

The  Chairman:    Is  there  any  one  else  to  be  heard? 

Aid.  Geiger:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  expect,  inasmuch  as  we  have 
started  out  to  hear  from  those  who  are  opposed  to  this  ordi- 
nance, that  we  should  continue  to  hear  from  those  who  are  op- 
posed to  it  imtil  they  have  finished. 

The  Chairman  :    We  will  hear  from  everybody. 

Mr.  Lessing  Rosenthal:  Mr.  Chairman,  at  first  I  did  not 
want  to  come  here.  I  thought  it  would  be  just  as  well  not  to  say 
anything  at  this  time,  but  I  am  afraid  unless  those  of  us  who 
are  opposed  to  this  plan  speak  now  it  may  be  too  late  to  speak 
hereafter. 

Of  course  I  am  in  full  accord  with  the  petition  just  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Pond.  I  think  it  voices  to  the  fullest  extent,  at 
least  to  a  very  great  extent,  the  sentiment  of  a  great  many 
people  in  this  community.  I  think  if  the  people  understood  this 
problem  as  many  of  us  do  who  have  looked  into  it — at  any  rate, 
as  I  understand  it — that  the  view  would  all  be  one  way. 

I  know  that  Mr.  Butler  was  in  almost  constant  attendance 
on  the  Legislature  in  1907,  and  in  fact  he  was  there  so  much  and 
so  often  that  some  of  us  did  not  even  know  why  he  was  there. 

In  constant  association  with  some  of  the  gentlemen  whom, 
one  has  to  associate  with  in  the  Illinois  Legislature,  I  realized 
that  Mr.  Butler  strove  for  the  interests  of  the  city. 

But  after  all,  I  want  to  say  this,  that  I  believe  that  they 
were  to  a  large  extent  at  the  mercy  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road. I  think  in  the  construction  that  has  been  placed  on  the 
Act  of  1907  they  were  to  a  large  extent  at  the  mercy  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad,  but  does  it  mean,  gentlemen,  that  be- 
cause by  that  particular  act  we  have  been  placed  at  the  mercy 
of  a  railroad  company  and  were  compelled  as  a  result  of  that  to 
make  an  unfair  trade — that  that  sort  of  thing  has  to  continue? 

Now  I  am  in  favor  of  the  beautification  of  the  city.  I  am 
in  favor  of  an  outer  boulevard.  I  think  every  one  that  has 
signed  this  particular  petition  is  in  favor  of  the  same  thing,  but 
the  fact  is  we  are  working  at  cross  purposes,  that  one  effort 
counteracts  the  other.  AVhen  we  strive  to  create  on  the  one 
hand  a  beautiful  outer  boulevard,  on  the  other  hand  we  create 
a  larger  nuisance — a  greater  nuisance  immediately  adjacent  to 
this  boulevard. 

I  want  to  refer  to  a  few  things  that  I  have  jotted  down  while 
sitting  here — a  few  of  the  points  that  occurred  to  me,  and  I 
want  to  refer  to  them  briefly. 

Aside  from  the  question  of  the  value  of  the  grant  to  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  effect  of  a  large 
railroad,  freight  or  switching  yard  along  the  lake  front,  there 
are  other  serious  questions.  There  is  the  question  of  smoke 
and  noise.  Of  course  the  noise  will  not  only  be  doubled,  but 
will  be  tripled  with  this  increase  of  right  of  way. 


79 

There  is  the  question  of  electrification  which,  it  seems  to 
me,  must  be  considered  by  this  committee  and  must  be  considered 
by  the  city  in  anything  that  it  does.  We  are  striving  to  have  all 
of  the  roads  electrified.  On  the  other  hand  we  are  now  propos- 
ing to  grant  to  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  additional  right  of 
way  which  will  give  them  room  for  probably  thirty  tracks.  We 
are  allowing  this  to  be  done  and  we  are  allowing  these  freight 
trains  to  be  operated  by  steam,  and  so  postponing  the  thing,  it 
seems  to  me  all  of  us  want — the  electrification  of  the  terminals 
of  the  railroads.  We  are  hearing  arguments  constantly  ad- 
vanced against  electrification — that  it  is  impossible  to  operate 
a  switch  yard  or  freight  yard  or  to  pull  freight  trains  out  of 
town  by  electricity.  Now  we  are  multiplying  this  evil.  We  are, 
in  other  words,  postponing  the  day. 

Another  thing  that  seems  to  us  has  to  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration is  the  question  of  the  depression  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral tracks.  I  am  heartily  in  sympathy  with  the  gentleman  who 
addressed  you — Mr.  Hyers — who  spoke  and  said  that  ultimately 
the  Illinois  Central  will  have  to  come  into  the  city — at  any  rate 
if  you  want  to  have  a  beautiful  lake  front — it  will  have  to  come 
in  underground.  At  any  rate  its  tracks  will  have  to  be  suffi- 
cientlj^  depressed  so  there  will  be  an  open  tunnel  through  which 
it  can  enter  the  city. 

Now  any  ordinance  that  is  adopted  ought  to  work  to  that 
particular  end. 

Then,  of  course,  nothing  is  said  in  this  ordinance — even  if 
we  do  not  believe  in  a  tunnel  and  do  not  believe  in  the  depres- 
sion of  the  tracks — about  the  question  of  the  elevation  of  the 
tracks.  In  other  words,  the  city  is  compelled  either  to  tunnel  un- 
der the  tracks  or  to  build  a  viaduct  over  the  tracks,  but  at  the 
same  time  it  is  made  optional  not  with  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners, not  with  the  City  of  Chicago,  whether  they  shall 
tunnel  down  under  the  track  or  build  a  viaduct,  but  that  op- 
tion is  left  under  the  terms  of  this  ordinance  or  contract  en- 
tirely with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company.  Now  that 
in  itself  is  a  wholly  unfair  proposition. 

Now  I  want  to  allude  to  the  question  of  policy — of  increas- 
ing the  number  of  railroad  tracks  that  are  run  along  the  surface 
within  the  limits  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 

Another  thing  that  ought  to  be  considered  in  connection 
with  this  ordinance  is  the  question  of  a  boulevard  connecting 
with  the  North  Side  and  crossing  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
tracks  at  Randolph  Street.  That,  I  think,  is  not  reserved.  Noth- 
ing is  said  about  it,  and  we  will  have  to  make  a  new  deal  with 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  after  we  have  completed  this  outer, 
boulevard,  and  want  to  run  over  to  the  North  Sida  and  extend 
it  across  to  the  North  Side. 


80 

Another  matter  is  that  no  provision  is  made  for  the  con- 
struction of  approaches.  Those  of  you  who  have  read  the  ordi- 
nance will  bear  in  mind  that  it  provides  that  a  viaduct  shall 
have  at  least  a  clearance  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  feet.  Of  course 
you  cannot  have  a  clearance  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  feet  above 
the  railroad  track  without  having  a  viaduct  that  is  higher  still, 
and  you  cannot  have  a  viaduct  that  is  higher  still  without  hav- 
ing approaches  to  viaducts.  You  will  have  to  build  your  ap- 
proaches along  Forty-second,  Forty-third  or  Forty-seventh 
Street  and  other  streets.  That  means  the  elevation  of  those 
streets.  That  means  great  damage  to  adjacent  property  owners. 
That  means  probably  elevation  of  other  streets,  and  by  getting 
something  that  is  sightly  immediately  adjacent  to  the  lake  shore, 
you  are  going  to  get  all  along  the  lake  shore  something  extreme- 
ly unsightly  and  sometliing  that  is  going  to  cause  damage  to  the 
city. 

Another  point  is  that  there  is  nothing  in  this  ordinance  giv- 
ing consent  of  mortgagee  to  provisions  of  ordinance  and  re- 
stricted use  of  land.  I  know  that  the  moment  the  attention  of 
Brother  Sexton  is  called  to  it  that  that  point  will  be  covered. 
The  CoriDoration  Counsel  has  done  most  excellent  work  upon 
this  ordinance.  It  is  remarkable  work  when  you  consider  that 
this  matter  was  under  consideration  by  the  Park  Commissioners 
for  a  long  time,  and  the  work  of  the  Corporation  Counsel  had 
to  be  done  in  a  limited  time,  and  he  had  to  take  into  considera- 
tion the  rights  and  claims  of  various  parties. 

I  might  say,  in  passing,  that  I  do  not  believe  the  Corpora- 
tion Counsel's  office  has  had  the  time  and  opportunity  really  to  de- 
liver the  proper  sort  of  an  opinion  as  to  what  the  conflicting  claims 
and  conflicting  rights  are ;  and  I  wish  to  add  to  that,  that  while 
it  is  true  that  this  particular  contract  which  is  ratified  by  in- 
direction— it  does  not  need  an  express  approval,  it  is  really 
ratified  by  indirection — the  passing  of  an  ordinance  here  which  is 
based  upon  this  contract  of  December  11,  1911 — while  that  has 
been  under  consideration  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners  for 
a  long  time,  it  has  been  under  consideration  by  the  people  for  a 
briefer  space,  and  it  seems  to  all  of  us  it  is  not  a  matter  that 
should  be  rushed  through,  but  it  is  a  matter  that  should  be  fully 
discussed.  I  myself  doubt  as  to  whether  the  ordinance  is  suf- 
ficiently explicit  regarding  the  elevation  of  the  tracks  of  the  St. 
Charles  Air  Line  and  the  Chicago  Junction  Railroad.  It  pro- 
vides, you  remember,  that  these  viaducts  shall  have  a  clearance 
of  at  least  nineteen  feet  over  the  tracks  of  the  St.  Charles  Air 
Line  and  the  tracks  of  the  Chicago  Junction  Railroad  as  they 
may  be  now  constructed — as  constructed  in  connection  with  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad,  but  the  ordinance  itself  contains  no 
pro\'ision  as  to  where  these  two  elevated  tracks  should  come 


81 

down  to  grade.  For  all  that  this  ordinance  provides,  the  St. 
Charles  Air  Line  and  the  Chicago  Junction  tracks  might  be  ele- 
vated and  extended  in  an  elevated  manner  all  the  way  to  Thirty- 
ninth  Street  before  they  reach  grade.  I  do  not  know  whether 
the  questions  of  grant  of  Thirteenth  Street  Pier  are  sufficiently 
clear  or  sufficiently  covered-  so  that  unquestioned  title  will  be 
obtained  to  that. 

The  ordinance  gives  the  power  to  construct  additional  con- 
nection from  a  point  on  the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  to  the  Illinois 
Central.  It  does  not  say  that  that  shall  be  immediately  adja- 
cent to  the  present  St.  Charles  Air  Line.  That  is  in  Section  8, 
and  the  location  is  not  sufficiently  defined.  That  is  in  Section  9 
on  page  18.  I  think  that  Mr.  Sexton  and  his  associates  here 
will  agree  with  me — Mr.  Hoyne  and  Mr.  Skinner — that  the  use 
to  which  the  land  should  be  put  should  be  better  and  further  re- 
stricted. The  ordinance  further  provides  that  they  shall  be 
used  for  no  purpose  other  than  tracks,  switches,  turn-outs  and 
passenger  stations.  We  ought  to  say  in  addition  to  that  that  it 
shall  never  be  used  so  as  to  leave  any  question  about  the  limita- 
tion of  time.    That  ought  to  be  safeguarded  in  every  way. 

I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that  there  ought  to  be  a 
penalty  imposed  that  if  they  are  used  for  any  other  purpose  that 
the  title  shall  revert  in  order  that  your  remedy  shall  not  be 
merely  by  injunction. 

Now  let  me  say  also  that  I  personally  think,  and  I  think 
the  other  gentlemen  will  share  my  views,  that  we  ought  to  have 
an  opinion  from  the  Corporation  Counsel  as  to  the  present 
status  of  the  litigation  with  the  Illinois  Central  relative  to  the 
legal  rights  of  persons  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  I  do 
not  think  that  any  of  us  are  sufficiently  advised  to  take  intelli- 
gent action  upon  that  point.  Speaking  for  myself  I  have  fol- 
lowed this  litigation  for  some  time.  I  have  been  conversant  with 
some  of  the  decisions,  in  fact  I  was  in  one  of  the  suits  at  one 
time,  and  yet  I  could  not  say,  although  I  followed  the  decisions 
in  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  State  Courts,  that  I  would  be 
sufficiently  advised,  although  I  am  a  lawyer,  to  pass  at  the  pres- 
ent time  upon  these  conflicting  claims. 

Now  the  argument  is  made — if  it  is  not  made  now  it  will  be 
made — that  we  are  apt  to  lose  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  and 
furthermore,  that  we  ought  not  to  stand  in  the  way  of  a  great 
public  improvement,  and  that  we  ought  to  make  sacrifices  and 
so  on.  Gentlemen,  I  want  to  say  that  that  is  not  sound  argu- 
ment. It  is  not  any  argument  that  addresses  itself  to  the  sit- 
uation at  all.  All  of  us  know  that  at  the  time  Mayor  Harrison 
was  standing  between  the  people  of  the  city  on  the  one  side 
and  the  street  railroad  companies  on  the  other,  that  the  same 
criticism  was  made  by  a  great  many  people  that  Mr.  Harrison 


82 

was  interfering  with  the  settlement  of  this  question,  but  he  con- 
tinued to  interfere  until  the  thing  was  settled  properly,  and  that 
is  all  we  are  interested  in.  This  thing  can  be  settled  properly. 
It  need  not  be  settled  immediately.  It  should  be  settled  for 
the  ultimate  good  of  the  people.  We  have  gone  on  for  years — 
and  a  great  many  years — and  have  had  to  do  without  the  outer 
boulevard.  Now  we  are  building  not  only  for  ourselves,  but  we 
are,  most  of  us  here,  are  really  building  in  this  matter  for 
posterity.  If  we  are  going  to  build  for  posterity,  let  us  do  it 
in  the  right  way.  Let  us  have  it  so  that  the  lake  front  is  open 
and  that  the  Illinois  Central's  rights  are  not  increased.  We  do 
not  need  any  increase  of  those  rights.  Eventually  the  time  will 
come,  it  is  bound  to  come,  and  I  think  all  of  us  mil  live  to  see 
the  time  when  the  people  will  insist  that  in  order  to  have  access 
to  the  lake  front,  which  is  their  right,  and  which  was  taken  away 
from  them,  and  which  should  not  have  been  taken  away  from 
them,  that  the  Illinois  Central  tracks  must  be  depressed  suf- 
ficiently in  a  tunnel  so  that  the  lake  front  will  be  open. 

When  we  look  at  this  matter  historically,  I  think  that  is 
another  reason  for  dealing  with  this  question  intelligently.  A 
few  years  ago  I  had  occasion  to  talk  to  some  gentlemen  about 
their  recollections  of  the  early  fights  with  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad.  I  also  read  some  of  the  newspapers  and  some  of  the 
records  of  that  time.  I  remember  that  there  was  a  meeting  in 
the  60's,  held  on  Michigan  avenue  by  a  committee  of  some  of 
the  Michigan  avenue  property  o\ATiers,  who  objected  to  some 
of  the  encroachments  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 
I  tliink  your  grandfather  was  there,  Mr.  Hoyne.  He  was  one  of 
the  leaders ;  but  Mr.  Hoyne  and  other  gentlemen,  I  think,  pro- 
tested against  what  the  Illinois  Central  was  doing,  and  I  think 
if  it  had  not  been  for  their  protest  this  city  would  have  been  in 
a  much  worse  state  than  it  is ;  and  I  also  remember,  connected 
mtli  that  matter,  that  the  representatives  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  arose  and  threatened  at  that  meeting  that  unless  this 
persecution,  as  they  called  it  at  that  time,  was  stopped  on  the 
part  of  the  people — unless  the  people  allowed  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  the  Michigan  Central  to  go  on  and  complete  their 
tracks  and  make  this  land  in  the  manner  that  they  wanted  it, 
they  would  take  their  tracks  off  of  the  lake  front,  and  it  is  a 
pity  that  that  threat  was  not  carried  out. 

Now  I  know  that  in  other  cities — great  cities,  great  centers 
of  commerce,  you  take  the  great  cities  of  Europe  and  cities  like 
New  York — are  aiming  to,  are  constantly  aiming  not  to  allow 
a  great  network  of  tracks,  not  to  allow  more  trackage  inside 
of  the  city  on  the  surface  than  can  be  helped.  In  New  York 
City,  for  instance,  the  New  York  Central  has  to  go  in  under 
ground.     It  has  to  go  underground    a   greater   distance   than 


i 


83 

would  be  necessary  for  the  Illinois  Central.  Why  should  we 
agree  to  increase  this  surface  congestion?  Why  should  we,  by 
an  ordinance  of  this  sort,  by  the  confirmation  of  a  contract 
such  as  that  of  December  11,  1911,  increase  this  barrier  that  is 
put  between  the  people  and  the  proper  enjoyment  of  the  lake 
front?  Now  whatever  may  be  said  to  you  gentlemen  who  are 
opposed  to  the  confirmation  of  this  contract,  I  say  the  day  will 
come  when  you  will  all  be  praised  for  the  stand  you  took  against 
any  such  action. 

Now  3^ou  know  what  the  people  in  the  first  instance  are 
often  disposed  to  criticise.  We  know  how  people,  often  the 
newspapers,  criticised  Montgomery  Ward  for  the  stand  he  took 
against  further  encroachments  upon  the  lake  front,  and  yet  I 
have  seen  in  some  of  these  newspapers  in  later  days  praises 
for  Montgomery  Ward.  I  think  the  people  all  acclaim  his 
praise  at  the  present  time  and  believe  that  it  was  a  great  im- 
provement to  the  city  that  he  kept  the  lake  front  open. 

We  should  have  a  great  water  front.  It  is  not  my  idea 
that  the  lands  should  be  carried  out  an  extreme  distance — to 
carry  the  lake  a  half  mile  away  from  the  people,  but  my  idea  is 
that  the  lake  should  be  brought  nearer  to  the  people,  and  that 
the  people  should  enjoy  it  to  the  fullest  extent,  but  under  this 
provision  why  the  only  object  or  real  benefit  of  this  would  be 
derived  by  those  who  drive  down,  say  from  Twelfth  Street  to 
Fifty-first  Street,  and  that  is  wholly  unnecessary.  The  people 
can  cross  only  by  viaduct  along  some  streets. 

The  worst  result  that  could  happen  from  a  postponement 
of  this  matter,  that  is  from  a  non-ratification  of  it  at  the  pres- 
ent time,-  is  that  the  Field  Museum — the  Field  Columbian 
Museum — may  be  located  in  Jackson  Park  instead  of  down 
town.  I  myself  am  in  favor  of  it  being  located  more  centrally 
if  we  can  have  it  located  there,  but  I  do  not  mean  that  it  should 
be  located  there  at  any  price.  I  do  not  mean  that  the  people 
should  surrender  their  moral  right, — their  moral  right  and 
legal  right: — for  the  purpose  of  having  the  Field  Columbian 
Museum  located  at  Twelfth  Street.  It  will  not  be  inaccessible 
even  in  Jackson  Park.  In  places  like  London,  for  instance,  the 
British  Museum  is  quite  a  distance  from  the  center  of  the  city, 
and  yet  a  great  many  people  have  access  to  it,  and  the  British 
Museum  is  probably  the  greatest  museum  in  the  world,  and  yet 
it  is  not  located  in  the  heart  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Redfibld  :  The  British  Museum  is  in  the  center,  is  it 
not? 

Mayor  Harrison:  It  was  probably  at  the  time  it  was  lo- 
cated.   London  has  grown  a  little  bit  in  recent  years. 

Mr.  Joseph  Donnersberger  (representing  the  South  Park 
Commissioners) :     Mr.   Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  rise  not  to 


84 

apologize  for  anything  that  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
have  done  in  this  matter,  but  there  have  been  so  many  state- 
ments made  here  that  I  donbt  whether  they  know  what  they  are 
talking  about.  In  the  first  place,  the  South  Park  Commission- 
ers had  no  individual  personal  interest,  either  as  a  commission 
or  personally,  in  the  making  of  this  contract.  They  were  simply 
prompted  by  a  motive  that  originated  through  the  Act  of  the 
World's  Fair.  They  were  moved  by  the  motive  of  the  Park 
Commission — a  Chicago  Plan  Commission  was  appointed  here 
by  the  City  Council  to  devise  ways  and  means  by  which  the 
lake  shore  should  be  made  to  have  a  connection  with  Grant  Park 
and  Jackson  Park.  It  was  mth  these  things  in  view,  and  on 
the  strength  of  an  Act  that  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  in 
1907,  which  gives  to  the  Park  Commissioners  the  right  to  ex- 
change property  with  the  owners  or  otherwise  so  that  the  lake 
shore  coulcl  be  preserved.  Now  they  were  up  against  that 
situation.  The  Act  was  there.  The  lUinois  Central  owned 
nine-tenths  of  the  riparian  rights.  The  Park  Commissioners 
should  not  fill  in  the  riparian  rights  under  the  proceedings  of 
the  court,  as  I  understand  it,  and  could  not  get  any  of  the  lake 
front,  and  we  were  both  there  looking  at  each  other — looking 
at  the  water,  one  could  not  and  the  other  dared  not  move.  The 
question  came  up  as  to  whether — as  to  the  location  of  the  Field 
Museum.  It  was  suggested  by  the  trustees  that  if  that  place 
could  be  fixed  nearer  down  to^^Ti  it  would  be  desirable,  and  the 
trustees  made  an  eifort  to  see  that  the  Museum  was  located  at 
Twelfth  Street.  Now  with  those  two  things  in  view,  condemna- 
tion proceedings  and  so  forth,  we  worked  all  summer  back  and 
forth  Avith  the  officials  of  the  railroad  company  as  to  what  sort 
of  a  trade  could  be  made.  The  Park  Commissioners  always 
bore  in  mind  that  whatever  trade  was  made  under  the  law,  it 
would  have  to  be  presented  to  the  City  Council  for  approval. 
We  recognized  that  the  Park  Board  was  only  an  arm  of  the 
city  government.  We  recognized  it  was  only  a  matter  of  time 
when  the  parks  would  all  be  consolidated  and  would  be  a  part 
of  the  City  of  Chicago.  With  all  of  those  things  in  view  and 
knowing  also  that  after  the  City  Council  got  through  with  their 
discussions  of  the  question,  the  Circuit  Court  would  have  an 
opportunity  to  decide  upon  this  thing,  and  that  every  man  who 
objected  would  have  a  right  not  only  to  go  before  this  body  but 
would  go  before  the  courts  before  that  contract  was  confirmed; 
so  the  Park  Commissioners  did  not  intend  in  any  way  to  tie 
the  hands  of  anybody  that  felt  they  were  not  getting  a  fair  deal 
or  a  square  trade. 

The  prices  or  values  of  property  have  been  agitated  here 
somewhat.  The  figures  I  gave  to  the  gentlemen  who  presented 
them,  are  true,  to  the  best  of  my  judgment,  but  I  cannot  agree 


85 

with  the  gentlemen  when  they  claim  that  land  at  Twelfth 
Street,  out  in  the  lake,  valued  at  $5.00  a  foot,  has  the  same 
value  of  $5.00  a  square  foot  when  you  get  down  to  Forty- 
seventh  Street  or  Fifty-first  Street.  As  an  illustration  I  will 
cite  Michigan  Avenue  at  Twelfth  Street,  where  property  is 
worth  $30.00  or  $40.00  a  square  foot,  and  you  get  out  to  Thirty- 
ninth  Street  it  is  not  worth  $1.00  a  square  foot,  hardly  one- 
fortieth.  Now  when  the  gentlemen  claim  and  make  up  figures 
that  these  riparian  rights  are  worth  $30,000,000  to  $40,000,000, 
it  is  all  imaginary,  because  the  facts  do  not  exist. 

Now,  as  I  said  before,  we  have  no  desire — we  want  this 
committee  to  think  tliis  thing  over  carefully.  We  want  them 
to  determine  whether  there  is  anything  that  has  been  left  out 
by  which  the  city  might  be  protected  and  where  the  public  might 
be  interested  in  securing  protection.  And  for  that  reason  the 
thing  was  referred  to  the  City  Council. 

The  question  has  been  raised  here,  how  are  we  going  to 
raise  the  money  to  do  these  things?  The  Board  of  Park  Com- 
missioners have  no  money;  they  will  have  to  apply  for  funds. 
They  will  have  to  appeal  to  the  people  to  do  this  work  if  it  is 
done;  and  when  these  gentlemen  come  up  here  and  talk  about 
what  might  be  done,  I  realize  it  is  a  beautiful  thing  to  them  all, 
— how  easy  it  is  to  put  the  Illinois  Central  down  under  the 
ground  forty  feet  and  how  easy  it  is  to  build  a  boulevard.  You 
know  that  is  not  practicable.  You  talk  about  railroads  dividing 
the  city — my  gracious,  here  you  have  a  mile  of  railroads  be- 
tween State  Street  and  Canal  Street,  and  still  you  are  granting 
the  privilege  of  more  railroad  tracks  out  west.  You  are  divid- 
ing this  great  city  into  different  sections  entirely.  You  are 
dividing  business  property  from  residence  property  entirely  by 
railroad  tracks.  I  agree  with  them  all  that  it  is  not  a  desirable 
thing,  yet  it  is  in  the  line  of  business  promotion  as  everything 
is  going  on;  it  is  progress.  Why  were  the  Northwestern  people 
allowed  to  divide  up  this  great  city?  It  was  because  it  was  a 
great  general  benefit,  not  to  the  interest  of  one  or  two  men  who 
might  own  a  few  thousand  feet  of  ground;  it  was  not  for  that 
purpose  at  all.  The  whole  city's  interests  are  taken  into  con- 
sideration. 

Now,  gentlemen,  this  thing,  as  I  say,  was  not  a  scheme  of 
the  South  Park  Commissioners ;  it  was  a  scheme  that  was  got- 
ten up  by  the  City  Plan  Commission  fixed  by  your  City  Coun- 
cil. It  was  a  scheme  that  was  considered  the  wise  thing  to  do — 
to  preserve  the  lake  front. 

Now,  if  the  Park  Commissioners  have  the  right  to  condemn 
that  right  of  way  and  condemn  those  riparian  rights  along  the 
lake  front,  I  for  one  would  favor  doing  that  or  negotiating  on 
a  new  basis  with  the  Illinois  Central  to  find  out  what  they  would 


86 

do.  We  have  tried  everything  that  we  could  that  we  thought 
was  best.  We  present  it  to  you  for  your  consideration,  and  if 
you  think  well  of  it  and  approve  it,  all  right.  Then  when  you 
get  through  with  it,  it  goes  to  the  Circuit  Court  and  if  they  ap- 
prove it,  well  and  good.  Then,  gentlemen,  we  think  we  have 
done  our  duty  to  the  best  of  our  judgment. 

Mayor  Harrison  :  Will  you  state  what  your  estimate  is  as 
to  the  value  of  what  the  public  is  getting  in  this  deal  and  what 
is  given  to  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad? 

Mr.  Donnersberger:  The  Illinois  Central  gives  up  at 
Twelfth  Street  and  Micliigan  avenue  39,000  square  feet  of 
ground,  which  is  valued  at  about  $2,000,000  in  round  figures; 
it  may  be  a  little  more.  They  are  getting  eight  one-half  acres 
of  land  east  of  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  which  I  value 
at  $5.00  a  square  foot.  Now  that  $5.00  a  square  foot  would 
make  it  practically  one  and  one-half  millions  of  dollars.  Now 
it  is  claimed  that  that  $5.00  a  square  foot  should  hold  good  to 
Fifty-first  Street,  which  is  unreasonable,  because  it  is  not  worth 
$5.00  a  square  foot  at  Fifty-first  street.. 

Aid.  Emerson:  Along  the  lake  front  the  value  is  about 
the  same. 

Mr.  Donnersberger  :  I  beg  your  pardon,  there  is  a  big  dif- 
ference. 

Aid.  Emerson:  You  try  and  buy  some  down  at  the  south 
end. 

Mr.  Donnersberger:  You  can  buy  property  all  along  the 
lake  front,  at  Forty-first  Street  and  other  places,  you  can  buy 
property  in  there — it  has  been  held  at  $1.00  a  square  foot — $1.00 
and  $1.50  a  square  foot. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    There  is  none  on  the  market. 

Mr.  Donnersberger:  It  is  on  the  market.  There  is  no 
question  about  that,  but  the  farther  you  go  out,  the  valuation 
drops.    There  is  no  doubt  about  that. 

Now  the  public,  to  my  notion,  are  getting  this  92  per  cent. 
of  the  riparian  rights. 

Now  the  value  of  riparian  rights  depends  upon  what  you 
are  going  to  do  with  it.  If  you  are  going  to  allow  it  to  remain 
there,  it  is  not  worth  anything.  If  they  are  improved  they  will 
be  valuable.  The  same  with  the  Illinois  Central — the  land  that 
the  railroad  gets,  the  submerged  land.  It  will  increase  in  value 
after  it  is  improved,  $5.00  to  $10.00  a  square  foot;  it  may  get 
to  any  price,  but  I  am  telling  you  the  present  value.  It,  of 
course,  depends  upon  what  you  make  of  it.  The  present  valua- 
tion of  the  land  that  the  pul3lic  is  getting  by  tliis  proposition  is 
pretty  well  fixed.  There  is  no  question  about  the  value  upon 
Michigan  avenue,  but  there  is  an  uncertain  value  as  to  these 
riparian  rights. 


87 

Aid.  Geiger:  Did  you  try  to  get  the  Illinois  Central  to 
electrify  ? 

•  Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER :  Yes,  sir.  The  argument  was  that 
there  was  no  positive  system  by  which  they  could  electrify.  It 
was  a  question  as  to  whether  they  could  electrify  by  overhead 
trolley  or  underground  trolley  and  that  was  a  question  that  had 
to  be  determined. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  It  was  a  question  of  whether  they  wanted 
to  or  not. 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER :    It  was  a  question  of  how. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    An  engineering  problem,  that  is_  all. 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER :    It  was  a  question  of  negotiation. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    You  made  the  best  bargain  you  could  ? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER:  Ycs,  and  we  submit  it  to  you  gentle- 
men now  for  your  approval.  If  you  think  well  of  it,  all  right; 
if  you  do  not  think  well  of  it,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  wiU 
throw  up  my  hands.  But  I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  it  was  the  best 
trade  that  could  be  made.  There  have  been  opinions  expressed 
here  today  that  at  some  future  day  you  might  be  allowed  to  go 
to  the  Legislature  and  get  authority  to  condemn  these  riparian 
rights,  but  that  would  mean  a  loss  of  the  museum  for  down 
town.  It  means  a  loss  of  the  museum  for  the  North  and  West 
Sides.  That  is  what  that  would  mean.  If  the  commissioners 
had  authority  to  condemn  that  property,  why  then  this  deal 
would  never  have  been  made,  but  under  the  circumstances  and 
under  the  conditions  it  was  the  best  bargain  that  could  be  had. 

A  Citizen:  "What  do  you  value  the  land  that  the  city  is 
getting  from  the  Illinois  Central? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER:    Wc  are  not  giving  them  anything. 

The  Citizen:    This  250  feet? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER :  Everything  we  give  them  they  have 
to  make.  The  public  are  getting  the  riparian  rights.  _  It  is  all 
water  they  are  getting  and  it  is  all  water  we  are  getting.  That 
is  all  there  is  to  it.  They  have  the  water  next  to  their  present 
right  of  way  and  we  have  the  waters  farthest  out. 

Aid.  Hey:  Has  the  Board  ever  examined  the  title  of  the 
land  of  the  Illinois  Central? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER :  We  had  an  abstract  made  by  the  Chi- 
cago Title  «&  Trust  Company,  for  example,  what  land  was  owned 
by  the  railroad  and  what  land  was  owned  by  private  persons, 
just  an  abstract  from  the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company. 

Mr.  Eedfield:    About  92  per  cent.? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER:    I  Said  about  92. 

Aid.  Hey:    Has  the  Board  a  copy  of  that  abstract? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER:    Ycs,  sir. 

Mr.  Eedfield  :  You  are  welcome  to  that.  The  Board  would 
be  glad  to  submit  it  to  the  committee. 


88 

Mr.  DoNNERSBEEGER :  We  got  ail  abstract  of  title  of  the 
land  belonging  to  the  Illinois  Central. 

Aid.  Nance  :  I  believe  you  stated  it  would  be  impracticable 
to  lower  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central,  in  other  words, 
to  bring  the  Illinois  Central  in  through  a  tunnel.  In  what  way 
is  it  not  practicable? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER :  The  engineers  claim  that  it  would  be 
necessary  to  enclose  it  in  a  masonry  wall  to  keep  out  the  water, 
and  the  expense  would  be  prohibitive.  That  is  the  way  it  was 
expressed  to  the  commissioners. 

Aid.  Nance:  They  cross  under  the  Hudson  river  into  New 
York  City. 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER :     Yes,  sir. 

Aid.  Hey  :  Was  any  attempt  made  on  the  part  of  the  Board 
to  eliminate  the  storage  yard  of  the  Illinois  Central? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER:    No,  sir. 

Aid.  Hey:  Don't  you  think  by  the  elimination  of  that  stor- 
age yard  a  great  deal  of  the  switching  which  it  does  could  be 
done  away  with? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER:  The  company  claimed  that  the  in- 
crease of  switching  facilities  south  of  Twelfth  Street  would 
diminish  the  switching  north  of  Twelfth  Street  75  per  cent.  If 
they  had  more  switching  facilities  south  of  Twelfth  Street,  why 
there  would  be  75  per  cent,  less  north  of  Twelfth  Street  where 
there  is  the  most  disagreeable  smoke. 

The  Chairman  :  Mr.  Lee  informed  us  that  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral contemplated  building  a  large  freight  terminal  at  the  river 
because  they  owned  the  land  from  Eandolph  street  to  the  river. 
In  that  event  you  would  be  multiplying  the  switching? 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER:    Now  we  did  not  go  into  anything — 

The  Chairman  :  He  informed  us  that  the  company  contem- 
plated that.    If  that  is  the  case  it  would  multiply  the  switching. 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER :  I  am  onlv  telling  you  what  we  were 
told. 

The  Chairman  :  We  should  be  making  it  possible  for  them 
to  utilize  their  thirty  tracks  instead  of  what  they  have  there  now. 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER :  The  same  trackage  would  be  north  as 
now. 

The  Chairman  :  From  Twelfth  Street  south  there  would  be 
more  to  come  in.  If  they  build  a  big  terminal  there,  then  the  con- 
gestion will  exist  perhaps  to  Fifty-fifth  Street. 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER:    That  is  news  to  me. 

The  Chairman  :    That  is  what  we  were  informed. 

Mr.  DoNNERSBERGER:  Wc  Were  led  to  believe  that  there 
would  be  75  per  cent,  less  switching  north  of  Twelfth  Street  than 
there  is  at  the  present  time. 

Aid.  Hey:     I  would  like  to  say  before  we  adjourn  that  I 


89 

think  tliis  committee  should  be  supplied  with  a  copy  of  the  state- 
ment made  by  the  attorney  brought  here  by  Mr.  Lee  and  also  a 
copy  of  the  pamphlet  read  here  by  the  gentleman  representing 
Mr.  Rosenthal  and  others,  as  well  as  the  statement  made  by  Mr. 
Rosenthal,  and  a  copy  be  submitted  to  the  members  of  this  com- 
mittee— a  stenographic  report. 

Mr.  E.  B.  Butler:  Mr.  Chairman,  before  you  adjourn  I 
would  like  to  say  a  word.  I  think  Mr.  Donnersberger  is  alto- 
gether too  modest.  I  have  been  in  attendance  at  the  meetings 
between  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  Mr.  Hutch- 
inson and  Mr.  Donnersberger,  and  I  am  sure  that  it  is  a  good 
thing  for  Chicago  that  we  have  two  such  men,  because  we  have 
made  a  good  trade — as  good  a  trade  as  could  have  been  made, 
in  my  opinion.  I  want  to  say  another  thing,  gentlemen,  that  I 
hope  you  will  not  forget  that  this  bill  was  passed  in  1907,  five 
years  ago,  and  we  have  been  trying  ever  since  that  time  to  take 
advantage  of  that  bill — in  other  words,  to  build  this  outer  park- 
way. Please  call  it  a  parkway,  do  not  call  it  a  driveway.  An 
outer  driveway  is  a  place  for  automobiles.  For  five  years  they 
have  been  trying  to  do  this  thing.  We  have  not  had  the  right 
man  with  whom  to  deal.  Mr.  Harahan,  I  am  sure,  would  have 
been  glad  to  have  done  it,  but  he  did  not  have  authority.  Mr. 
Markham,  the  present  president  of  the  Illinois  Central,  I  want 
to  say,  has  been  fair.  I  am  not  an  Illinois  Central  man,  but  Mr. 
Markham  has  been  fair  and  he  has  tried  to  meet  these  gentle- 
men, Mr.  Hutchinson  has  been  a  bulldog  in  this  matter,  and  Mr. 
Donnersberger.  You  see  them  here  today;  they  look  as  though 
this  thing  was  a  finished  thing  now.  It  is  an  easy  thing  for  these 
gentlemen  to  come  here  from  the  City  Club  and  present  this 
document,  which  is  a  very  strong  document.  Mr.  Lessing  Rosen- 
thal always  presents  a  strong  document.  I  think  as  much  of 
Mr.  Rosenthal  as  any  man  in  this  town,  but  he  has  always  been 
on  the  other  side  of  things  that  I  am  for.  Here  is  the  proposi- 
tion— they  claim  that  this  property  is  worth  about  $20,000,000. 
You  notice,  gentlemen,  that  when  they  figure  the  other  side — 
where  he  figured  the  riparian  rights  he  figured  them  at  $260,000 
as  the  amount  in  value  that  we  were  going  to  get,  but  the  amount 
they  were  getting  was  very  much  more  in  value. 

Now,  as  I  say,  it  is  done,  it  is  finished.  I  mean  the  trade 
has  been  made.  For  fifty  years  we  have  been  trying  to  get  the 
lake  shore.  We  have  made  efforts  to  get  it.  Now  we  not  only 
get  the  lake  shore  but  this  beautiful  parkway.  Why,  gentlemen, 
do  you  know  what  we  are  going  to  get — a  strip  of  parkway  paral- 
leling the  Illinois  Central,  varying  from  500  to  700  feet  in  width, 
making  the  entire  lake  front  a  park  clear  down  to  Jackson  Park, 
also  an  island  park  a  half  a  mile  wide  and  nearly  five  miles  long, 
with  a  beautiful  park  for  all  of  that  distance.  We  need  all  of 
the  parks  we  can  get,  gentlemen,  in  this  city.    Those  parks  will 


90 

be  connected  by  bridges  at  every  lialf  mile.  Between  those  parks 
there  will  he  a  lagoon  of  quiet  water  where  the  small  boats  can 
sail  and  electric  launches  and  light  boats.  Gentlemen,  just  im- 
agine that. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  has  referred  to  the  Field  Museum  as  being 
accessible  at  Jackson  Park.  Why,  gentlemen,  the  head  of  one 
of  our  great  public  institutions  remarked  to  me  the  other  day 
that  the  location  of  the  Field  Museum  down  here  was  worth  the 
whole  price  of  the  thing.  Just  think  what  it  means.  Mr.  Rosen- 
thal says  it  was  a  good  thing  that  Montgomery  Ward  put  a  stop 
to  the  location  of  the  Field  Museum  on  the  lake  front.  Would 
it  not  be  a  good  thing  if  we  had  the  Field  Museum  up  here  ?  But 
here  today  after  this  is  done,  the  Field  Museum  will  be  at  the 
head  of  this  beautiful  Grant  Park. 

Just  think  what  the  picture  will  be  when  Grant  Park  will 
be  completed,  with  this  Field  Museum,  with  the  Illinois  Central 
built  over  with  viaducts,  over  the  tracks,  with  tlie  museum  in 
the  center.  The  viaduct  over  the  lagoon  will  be  high  enough 
for  boats  to  pass  under  with  their  sails  set. 

What  difference  does  it  make  to  you  or  me  whether  we  give 
them  fifty  feet  more  or  less  of  the  lake?  Can  anybody  say  it 
is  not  a  good  thing? 

In  regard  to  electrification:  The  Illinois  Central  told  Mr. 
Edison  the  other  day  that  they  would  take  two  of  his  storage 
batteries  and  try  them.  Mr.  Markham  said  they  would  electrify 
as  soon  as  they  could.  Now,  gentlemen,  when  that  is  done, 
what  does  that  mean?  There  is  no  alderman  who  is  going  to 
vote  for  this  thing  that  wall  not  be  very  proud  of  what  he  has 
done.  You  will  be  able  to  walk  up  and  down  this  parkway  with 
your  son  or  daughter  and  you  can  say  to  them  in  future  days 
that  you  voted  in  favor  of  the  improvement. 

I  will  state  that  there  is  not  a  crooked  thing  in  it.  It  has 
been  as  straight  as  a  die.  You  can  take  my  word  for  it.  You 
can  believe  me. 

Gentlemen,  I  thank  you. 

Mr.  Charles  L.  Hutch ln son  (President  of  Chicago  Art 
Institute,  and  a  member  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners) : 
Mr.  Chairman,  I  look  upon  this  matter  away  above  dollars  and 
cents.  There  are  two  things  to  be  accomplished.  One  thing 
that  led  us  to  take  up  the  matter  at  this  time  was  first  to  get 
the  people  down  to  the  lake  front,  accommodating  the  people  of 
the  West  Side,  the  North  Side,  as  well  as  the  South  Side.  Now 
I  believe  that  that  thing  alone  is  worth,  as  the  Mayor  said, 
more  than  all  that  the  Illinois  Central  is  getting  or  is  going  to 
get.  The  next  thing  is  to  reclaim  to  the  people  the  lake  shore 
from  Park  Row  to  Fifty-first  Street.  Again  you  take  the 
riparian  rights,  these  cost  the  city  nothing,  absolutely  nothing. 


91 

People  may  think  the  South  Park  Commissioners  have  made  a 
foolish  trade,  but  they  have  made  the  best  one  they  possibly 
could  at  the  present;  time,  and  the  best  trade  that  it  has  been 
possible  to  make  any  time  within  five  years.  I  can  bring  you 
plenty  of  testimony  here  that  I  tliink  will  rank  as  high  as  that 
of  the  gentlemen  who  are  now  complaining,  citizens  whose  opin- 
ion I  think  will  be  of  value,  to  say  that  we  have  made  a  good 
trade. 

Now  you  take  your  riparian  rights,  the  city  constructs  a 
harbor,  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners  are  willing  that 
they  should  do  so.  You  acquire  these  riparian  rights  for  noth- 
ing. Under  this  trade  we  get  all  the  riparian  rights  from  Park 
Row  to  Fifty-first  Street  except  about  2,000  feet  belonging  to 
the  Walker  Estate  at  Twenty-sixth  Street..  You  cannot  take 
these  riparian  rights  away  from  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad. 
Even  if  you  condemn  them,  it  will  cost  you  several  millions  of 
dollars  to  get  those  riparian  rights.  I  do  not  believe  any  court 
will  give  them  to  you  for  $1,000,000. 

The  South  Park  Commissioners  have  made  this  trade. 
They  have  asked  the  City  Council  to  ratify  the  trade,  but 
whether  it  is  ratified  or  not,  I  believe  it  is  a  grand  opportunity — 
the  grandest  opportunity  that  ever  came  to  Chicago  or  ever 
came  to  this  country,  to  get  a  magnificent  park  like  Lincoln 
Park  on  the  lake  shore  between  Park  Row  and  Fifty-first 
Street.  It  is  the  greatest  opportunity  that  ever  came.  It  is  not 
worth  figuring  what  it  is  worth,  a  million  or  two,  more  or  less, 
what  the  Illinois  Central  gets  in  their  trade.  It  is  the  best  trade 
you  can  get  at  the  present  time,  I  am  sure  of  that,  because  we 
have  been  in  touch  with  the  New  York  directors.  It  is  not  Mr. 
Markham  alone,  but  there  are  men  in  New  York  that  have  some- 
thing to  say  about  this  thing.  It  is  the  best  trade  you  can  get.  I 
believe  I  can  bring  you  plenty  of  testimony,  citizens,  as  I  said 
before,  that  will  admit  all  that  Mr.  Rosenthal  thinks  is  right  in 
regard  to  valuations.  We  have  to  have  the  co-operation  of  the 
city  to  get  the  trade  through.  All  we  ask  the  city  at  this  time 
to  do  is  to  give  us  Park  Row  east  of  Michigan  Avenue,  Indiana 
Avenue  and  two  alleys ;  give  us  the  riparian  rights  opposite  the 
pumping  station  and  allow  us  to  move  the  pumping  station  at 
our  expense.  We  will  do  the  rest,  and  twenty-five  years  from 
today  you  will  not  say  that  we  purchased  it  at  too  great  a  price. 
I  do  not  believe  that  any  gentleman  in  this  room  or  any  com- 
mittee of  gentlemen  in  this  room  could  have  gotten  more  than 
we  did.  We  did  the  very  best  we  could.  Now  if  you  let  it  go 
at  this  time  and  delay  the  case,  you  are  going  to  lose  the  Field 
Columbian  Museum  on  the  lake  front.  I  do  not  believe  you 
could  make  as  good  a  trade  as  this  in  five  years,  and  you  would 
be  losing  the  Field  Columbian  Museum  in  the  meantime.    They 


92 

have  until  some  time  in  March  to  change  the  location  of  that 
museum  to  somewhere  down  town  without  any  additional  ex- 
pense. 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Wacker  (Chairman  of  the  Chicago  Plan 
Commission) :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  not  appearing  here  as  the 
chairman  of  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission,  for  the  reason  that 
that  commission  has  up  to  this  time  not  had  an  opportunity  of 
considering  tliis  matter.  I  have  been  sending  the  ordinances 
as  fast  as  I  could  get  them  to  the  commissioners  and  I  agreed 
that  just  as  soon  as  this  committee  agreed  upon  something,  we 
\vould  submit  that  ordinance  and  then  bring  it  up  for  consider- 
ation. 

But  I  have  a  right  here  to  talk  as  a  citizen  of  Chicago,  and 
in  no  way  committing  my  commission. 

I  look  upon  this  whole  proposition  in  the  same  way  as  Mr. 
Hutchinson  does.  I  look  upon  it  as  the  greatest  opportunity 
that  has  ever  been  offered  to  the  City  of  Chicago  to  accomplish 
something  that  if  once  lost  may  never  return.  We  may  be  put 
in  the  same  position  that  London  was  put  in  after  the  great 
fire  of  1666.  The  city  was  advised  to  carry  out  certain  plans 
which  they  failed  to  do.  Today  they  are  expending  hundreds 
of  millions  of  dollars  to  make  good  the  blunder  of  that  time. 
We  have  had  other  improvements  neglected  in  this  city  through 
delay.  I  went  up  and  down  Halsted  Street  today.  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  a  citizen  that  goes  up  and  down  that  street  but 
what  admits  that  it  was  a  blunder  not  to  widen  that  street  when 
the  matter  was  up.  It  could  have  been  done  for  $5,000,000,  and 
today  it  will  cost  $15,000,000  to  $20,000,000. 

Not  only  is  the  Field  Columbian  Museum  involved  here,  but 
I  want  to  say  to  this  committee  and  to  Mr.  Pond,  who  appeared 
here  before  you  and  read  that  document — I  think  the  figures  were 
not  on  a  fair  basis.  He  said  within  the  last  few  days — we  were 
discussing  this  matter — that  it  was  a  great  mistake  putting  the 
Northwestern  depot  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  I  said  I  thought 
it  was ;  they  said  they  thought  it  was.  There  is  involved  in  this 
proposition  the  moving  of  the  Polk  street  depot  and  even  the 
Union  Station  and  the  Michigan  Southern  south  of  Twelfth 
Street,  facing  north.  If  all  that  could  be  accomplished  it  would 
be  one  of  the  greatest  things  that  could  be  accomplished  for 
the  City  of  Chicago,  and  all  of  that  hinges  upon  the  action  that 
we  take  now. 

It  has  been  stated  that  certain  bills  were  passed  in  the 
Legislature  to  do  certain  things.  How  long  did  it  take?  I  hap- 
pen to  know  that  it  took  ten  years  to  do  some  of  these  things. 
Are  the  conditions  going  to  be  such  ten  years  from  now,  so  you 
can  carry  out  this  plan  as  it  is  proposed  to  be  carried  out,  on 
any  such  basis  as  we  can  do  it  now?     Personally,  I  do  not  be- 


lieve  it  can  be  done,  and  I  for  one  want  to  go  down  in  history, 
if  that  matter  should  ever  be  written  up  in  history,  as  pinning 
my  reputation  on  the  flag  of  progress.  I  believe  the  greatest 
mistake  that  Chicago  can  make  is  to  interfere  with  this  improve- 
ment. I  had  notliing  to  do  with  the  trade  that  was  made,  but 
I  have  unlimited  confidence  in  the  men  who  negotiated  that  con- 
tract, and  I  personally  believe  what  they  say  when  they  say 
that  the  very  best  that  could  be  done,  after  wrangling  for 
months  and  months,  was  done. 

To  me,  putting  the  Field  Columbian  Museum  at  Jackson 
Park,  as  has  been  stated,  is  not  an  insignificant  matter.  Take 
your  records  and  look  at  the  attendance  at  the  Art  Institute, 
and  you  will  find  that  the  attendance  at  the  Field  Columbian 
Museum,  which  is  pronounced  to  be  one  of  the  finest  museums 
of  this  land  in  the  world,  and  a  museum  that  has  more  attrac- 
tive things  for  our  children  than  the  Art  Institute  ever  dreamed 
of  having,  has  one-tenth — less  than  one-tenth  of  the  attendance. 
The  difficulty  about  that  museum  is  in  the  people  getting  to  it. 
I  do  not  believe  there  is  one  gentlemen  here  who  will  say  that 
Jackson  Park  is  the  proper  place  for  it,  with  the  center  of 
population  at  the  corner  of  Twelfth  and  Halsted  Streets;  and 
when  it  comes  to  the  property  owner — and  one  might  infer  from 
what  has  been  said  here  that  this  property  along  the  Illinois 
Central  right  of  way  was  very  valuable  residence  property  and 
therefore  might  be  damaged, — well,  I  happen  to  know  that  right 
of  way.  I  know  that  the  McAvoy  Brewing  Company  is  at 
Twenty-sixth  Street,  and  Cooke's  and  every  other  thing  that 
does  not  tend  to  improve  property  along  that  right  of  way  is 
to  be  found  there.  I  know,  further,  that  up  to  at  least  Forty- 
second  Street,  that  whole  property  is  doomed  to  become  busi- 
ness property,  the  same  as  I  know  that  the  property  on  the 
North  Side  from  Chicago  Avenue  to  the  river,  and  from  the  lake 
to  the  river,  is  doomed,  and  at  one  time  was  the  finest  resi- 
dential district  in  the  City  of  Chicago.  Today  it  is  doomed. 
No  man  would  ever  dream  of  putting  a  residence  into  tliat  dis- 
trict.   I  will  even  go  further  and  say  up  to  Forty-seventh  Street. 

What  is  property  worth  along  the  Illinois  Central?  You 
can  buy  it  for  any  purpose  or  any  price  almost.  I  think  the 
property  there  is  so  bad  now  that  it  cannot  be  worse. 

Take  our  park,  some  one  talked  about  the  pollution  of 
water.  I  have  been  going  around  this  city  and  telling  people 
that  we  would  improve  parcels  of  land  anywhere  from  75  acres 
to  100  acres  for  nothing,  and  I  gave  them  my  reasons.  I  was 
called  on  to  state  upon  what  grounds  I  made  those  assertions. 
I  sent  a  communication  that  I  would  like  to  have  read,  if  you 
have  not  read  it.  There  were  reasons  given — grounds  given 
why  that  can  be  done,  and  in  conjunction  with  it  there  is  an- 


94 

other  reason  that  I  can  see,  knowing  as  I  know  that  from  35,000 
to  50,000  people  are  dumped  at  the  corner  of  North  Avenue  and 
North  Clark  Street  every  Sunday  and  holidays,  all  desiring  to 
get  to  the  lake.  The  Chicago  Avenue  cars,  most  of  them,  come 
from  the  West  Side.  Is  there  any  reason  in  the  park  develop- 
ment that  the  Chicago  Avenue  cars  should  not  run  to  the  lake? 
Indiana  now  runs  to  the  lake;  it  is  the  purpose  to  run  the 
Twelfth  Street  cars  to  the  lake.  Is  there  any  reason  why  the 
Twenty-second  Street  car  should  not  run  to  the  lake  and  the 
Twenty-sixth  Street  cars  to  the  lake,  and  so  on?  For  what 
purpose?  To  enable  the  people  living  on  the  West  Side,  who 
live  in  the  congested  districts — you  know  that  congested  dis- 
tricts breed  vice  and  crime — give  them  a  direct  communication 
with  the  parks — not  boulevards.  The  plan  is  not  a  boulevard. 
Every  man  who  can  pay  a  nickel  will  be  able  to  go  to  the  park. 

The  cry  has  gone  on  about  the  pollution  of  the  water,  and 
the  citizens  of  Chicago  have  been  called  upon  to  pay  $60,000,000 
for  purifying  it,  which  would  be  done  away  with,  and  the  amount 
of  money  necessary  for  building  the  retaining  walls  would  be 
gladly  paid  by  the  contractors  for  the  privilege  of  having  a 
place  to  put  the  refuse  matter  of  the  city,  and  the  city  will  dump 
along  the  lake  front,  on  the  lake  shore,  behind  the  retaining 
walls  this  refuse  matter  and  your  water  would  again  become 
pure.  Today  it  is  not  pure  after  you  have  expended  $63,000,000, 
not  to  speak  of  the  dumping  that  is  going  into  the  river  and 
the  material  going  into  the  lake  right  along  contrary  to  law. 
That  would  be  removed. 

Speaking  of  the  riparian  rights  on  the  North  Side —  I  am 
a  Northsider.  The  commissioners  on  the  North  Side  were  im- 
able  to  acquire  the  riparian  rights  for  nothing.  That  is  why 
we  have  an  eye-sore  on  the  North  Side — we  have  a  block  of 
residence  property  between  two  boulevards  of  the  park.  They 
settled  with  those  people  and  they  gave  them  what  is  to  me 
most  valuable  property,  because  I  know  of  no  property  that  has 
a  park  on  each  side  of  it.  That  is  the  only  place  in  the  world 
where  you  can  find  that  condition.  Why?  Because  they  had 
to  settle  mth  them.  I  do  not  believe  5^ou  can  get  the  riparian 
rights  of  the  Illinois  Central  for  nothing.  You  will  have  to 
pay  them  to  drop  all  of  those  privileges.  The  opportunity  is 
at  hand.  I  believe  in  getting  the  best  trade  for  the  people  that 
you  can,  but  I  believe  the  opportunity  is  at  hand,  and  if  you  let 
it  slip  by  I  believe  every  one  of  us  will  live  to  regret  the  day 
and  instead  of  being  lauded  for  it,  every  one,  Mr.  Eosenthal, 
will  be  damned  for  it  in  the  depth  of  hell. 

Mr.  Lessing  Rosenthal,:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  do  not  want  to 
tire  the  committee  and  take  up  the  time,  but  I  was  very  glad 
that  I  had  the  opportunity  of  hearing  these  gentlemen  and  to 


95 

know  how  they  regard  me  and  to  know  that  I  am  still  their 
friend.  I  am  going  to  be  one  of  these  friends,  and  at  the  same 
time  I  want  to  tell  them  when  I  think  they  are  wrong,  and  that 
sort  of  a  friend  is  the  best  sort  of  a  friend.  There  is  no  man  in 
this  community  who  has  a  higher  regard  for  Mr.  Butler  than 
I  have.  I  know  there  is  no  man  who  has  worked  harder  for  the 
community  than  he  has.  I  admire  his  municipal  lodging  house, 
for  which  he  is  responsible,  the  Art  Institute  and  all  those 
grand  things.  He  is  a  fine  citizen.  I  want  to  work  in  harmony 
with  him,  but  at  the  same  time  I  am  going  to  tell  him  that  his 
views  and  mine  do  not  agree. 

Now,  Mr.  Hutchinson  alluded  to  the  Art  Institute  in  com- 
parison with  the  Field  Columbian  Museum.  Of  course  it  is 
not  a  fair  test  at  the  present  time.  In  the  first  place  the  Field 
Columbian  Museum  is  in  a  bad  state  of  repair;  is  illy  vent- 
ilated, I  understand,  and  it  is  only  partially  heated  and  there 
is  not  the  opportunity  for  a  public  attendance  that  there  ought 
to  be,  and  certainly  not  the  facilities  they  have  in  the  Art  In- 
stitute. 

Now  it  is  possible  that  the  gentlemen  may  have  made  the 
best  bargain  they  could  have  made.  Now  what  sort  of  a  bar- 
gain are  they  going  to  make  when  you  find  out  that  the  other 
fellows  don't  have  to  give  up  to  you  and  you  are  at  their  mercy? 
K  that  were  a  proper  situation  I  would  say  Amen,  but  it  is 
not  a  proper  situation.  If  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
would  want  your  land  or  my  land  for  a  park,  they  have  the 
power  to  condemn  it.  Now  I  ask,  gentlemen,  why  should  they 
not  have  the  same  power  with  reference  to  the  Illinois  Central? 
Are  we  going  to  sit  here  and  confess  our  weakness  and  say 
that  the  South  Park  Commissioners  can  take  your  land  and  my 
land  away  from  us  at  a  less  price  than  you  paid  for  it?  They 
did  it  repeatedly  for  the  small  parks  created  here.  They  se- 
cured it  on  the  South  Side  at  a  less  price  than  the  owners  paid 
for  it,  and  yet  it  was  considered  a  great  public  benefit  and  they 
had  the  right  to  take  these  things  by  condemnation,  or  by  the 
right,  as  we  call  it  in  law,  of  eminent  domain.  Now  what  sort 
of  construction  are  you  going  to  put  upon  an  Act  which  gives 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  power  to  do  this  very  thing 
with  reference  to  any  individual  citizen,  but  ties  the  hands  of 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  so  far  as  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  is  concerned,  and  I  say  to  you  again  that  there  is  one 
section  of  that  Act  that  is  most  significant:  if  a  person  is  un- 
der a  disability,  if  a  person  is  not  able  to  deal  for  himself,  if  a 
person  is  ignorant  or  not  of  sound  mind,  that  person's  land 
cannot  be  taken  away  from  him  by  condemnation  proceedings, 
but  by  the  Illinois  Central  ''No",  you  are  restrained. 

Now  there  is  another  thing:   This  citv  through  the  instru- 


96 

mentality  of  some  members  possibly  of  this  committee  got  an 
Act  through  the  Legislature  last  year  giving  the  city  power  to 
condemn  for  certain  purposes —  for  harbor  pui-poses,  bathing 
purposes,  bathing  beaches  and  so  forth,  and  it  would  have  been 
a  simple  thing — the  simplest  thing  in  the  world,  to  have  added 
to  that  law  a  section  allowing  them  to  condemn  for  park  pur- 
poses.   If  it  had  been  thought  of,  it  would  have  been  done, 

I  agree  that  it  is  not  a  question  of  dollars  and  cents — fai' 
from  a  question  of  dollars  and  cents,  but  it  is  a  question  of 
whether  we  should  have  an  outer  parkway,  and  at  the  same 
time  while  we  are  creating  a  parkw^ay  we  should  create  an  ad- 
ditional nuisance. 

We  should  not  offset  the  one  \vith  the  other. 

Let  me  point  to  another  thing:  a  few  years  ago  an  ordi- 
nance was  passed  here  in  regard  to  Grant  Park  and  was  put 
through  the  Council.  I  venture  to  say  that  if  Mr.  Harrison  had 
been  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Chicago  at  that  time  that  the  ordi- 
nance would  have  been  vetoed.  Eveiybody  that  passes  along 
the  lake  front  knows,  and  any  number  of  strangers  who  have 
come  and  who  have  been  shown  the  city,  have  said  to  me,  '  *  Why 
are  the  people  who  go  along  Michigan  Avenue  deprived  of  Lake 
Michigan"?  Simply  because  the  Illinois  Central  at  that  time — 
and  I  know  whereof  I  speak — dictated  the  terms  of  that  par- 
ticular ordinance.  Now  this  ordinance  never  would  have  been 
passed  if  it  required  a  depression.  Now  the  view  of  Lake 
Michigan  is  obscured.  Now  we  ought  not  in  a  city  like  this  to 
confess  ourselves  so  weak  and  so  incompetent  that  we  are  not 
able  to  deal  with  this  situation  in  a  proper  fashion.  We  should 
have  this  proposition  settled  on  the  right  terms,  and  it  is  in  the 
power  of  this  committee,  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  Council  to  in- 
sist that  it  shall  be  had  on  the  right  terms,  and  if  the  energies 
which  are  expended  here  this  afternoon  in  discussing  this 
thing, — if  this  energy  was  put  upon  the  proper  sort  of  a  project, 
it  would  go  through. 

I  want  to  say  a  word  more.  Mr.  Butler  alluded  to  my  op- 
position to  the  boulevard  link.  Well,  I  am  glad  he  did  because 
it  was  a  good  illustration  of  what  has  happened.  The  first  con- 
nection that  was  proposed  was  merely  a  boulevard  on  stilts, 
something  that  would  amount  to  a  mere  viaduct  in  Michigan 
Avenue.  Well,  the  result  of  it  is  that  plan  No.  3  is  being  con- 
sidered. Everj^body  connected  with  the  matter  admits  that  the 
last  plan  is  an  improvement  upon  what  was  originally  pro- 
posed, and  yet  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  opposition  of  certain 
citizens,  we  would  never  have  had  the  finer  and  more  beautiful 
scheme. 

Mr.  Wacker  says,  Let  us  not  blunder.  I  agree  with  him  in 
that  too.    I  think  if  we  pass  this  ordinance  in  its  present  form 


97 

it  will  be  a  great  blunder.  I  hope  some  day  I  can  walk  down 
the  parkway  with  Mr.  Wacker  and  we  will  both  agree  that  this 
thing  was  properly  settled  without  this  additional  grant  being 
given  to  the  Illinois  Central. 

I  want  again  to  thank  you  for  permitting  me  to  answer. 

Mr.  H.  F.  Lee  :  Mr.  Chairman,  the  water  front  of  Chicago, 
I  wish  to  repeat,  is  the  city's  greatest  asset,  as  a  harbor  and 
for  terminal  facilities,  and  I  object  to  the  cool  assumption  by 
many  of  the  speakers  that  this  outer  parkway  or  outer  boulevard, 
or  anything  you  want  to  call  it,  ought  to  be  built.  I  claim  that 
this  committee  ought  to  safeguard  the  city,  as  it  started  to  do, 
and  I  think  perhaps.  His  Honor,  the  Mayor,  would  not  veto 
that  Harbor  District  Number  3  again  if  it  was  passed.  I 
believe  you  should  safeguard  the  entire  water  front.  We  have 
enough  dry  land  to  build  boulevards  on.  We  can  build  our 
streets  on  dry  land.  The  water  was  made  by  God  Almighty  to 
sail  boats  on,  and  we  must  have  terminal  facilities  for  that  pur- 
pose. That  is  the  point  I  wish  to  make,  and  I  wish  to  make  it 
as  forcibly  as  I  can,  that  the  lake  front  should  be  reserved  as 
much  as  possible  for  harbor  purposes. 

The  Chairman  :  Is  there  anyone  else  who  wishes  to  be 
heard? 

Aid.  Brennan  :    I  move  that  we  adjourn. 

Aid.  Hey  :  I  move  that  every  member  of  the  committee  be 
provided  with  a  copy  of  the  stenographer's  record  taJven  this 
afternoon,  as  soon  as  possible. 

It  was  moved  and  seconded  that  the  committee  adjourn 
until  3:30  o'clock  Wednesday,  January  24,  1912. 

Thereupon  the  committee  adjourned  to  January''  24,  1912, 
3:30  o'clock  p.  m. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  HARBORS,  WHARVES  AND  BRIDGES 
OF  THE  CITY  COUNCIL  OF  CHICAGO. 

Wednesday,  January  24,  1912,  3:30  o'clock  p.  m. 


Alderman  Littler,  chaimian  of  the  committer,  called  the 
meeting  to  order. 

Secretary  Harrah  called  the  roll,  showing  the  following 
members  of  the  committee  present:  Aldermen  Littler,  Long, 
Nance,  Emerson,  Brennan,  Geiger,  Hey  and  Block.  Others 
present :  Mayor  Carter  H.  Harrison,  Messrs.  Wheeler,  Hutch- 
inson, John  B.  Payne,  Cummins,  Kunz,  Donnersberger,  Sexton 
and  Redfield. 


98 

The  Chairman  :  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  continuation  of  the 
public  hearing  that  was  started  yesterday.  Now,  if  there  is 
anyone  in  the  room  that  wishes  to  be  heard  on  the  contract  or 
ordinance  drawn  np  by  the  Corporation  Counsel,  and  submitted 
to  this  committee  for  its  consideration,  I  would  be  glad  to  hear 
them  at  tliis  time.  An^diody  who  desires  to  be  heard  at  this 
time  will  be  given  an  opportunity  to  be  heard  now  before  the 
committee  takes  up  the  consideration  of  the  ordinance,  as  a 
comLmittee. 

Mr.  Harry  E.  Wheeler  (representing  the  Chicago  Associa- 
tion of  Commerce) :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  think  the  association 
would  like  to  say  to  the  committee  that  at  the  time  this  pro- 
posed contract  was  first  given  for  publicity  it  was  referred  by 
the  Board  of  Directors  to  the  senior  Council  of  the  Association, 
a  body  made  up  of  all  the  retired  presidents  and  vice-presidents 
of  the  association.  They  held  several  meetings  in  considering 
the  terms  of  the  contract  and  reported  back  to  the  executive 
committee  for  their  approval,  that  so  far  as  the  terms  of  the 
proposed  ordinance  were  concerned,  that  they  were  in  favor  of 
the  general  provision,  assuming  that  the  Council  would  safe- 
guard these  particular  things  that  need  to  be  safeguarded  in  a 
contract  of  that  kind;  the  only  exception  taken  being  the  posi- 
tion that  there  should  be  specific  uses  to  which  the  ground  on 
Thirty-first  Street  south  should  be  dedicated,  and  not  left  open, 
as  has  seemed  to  be  the  fact  in  the  original  contract,  and  has 
since  been  changed  in  the  amendments  that  have  been  pre- 
sented— before  any  use  to  which  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
might  see  fit  to  put  that  particular  ground.  The  discussion  in 
the  executive  committee  continued  over  two  sessions,  and  I  be- 
lieve I  can  say  to  you  gentlemen,  for  the  Association  of  Com- 
merce, that  we  stand  for  this  contract  as  provided  in  the 
amended  ordinance,  especially  Section  9,  safeguarding  the  par- 
ticular point  that  was  made.  And  we  stand  for  it,  not  in  all 
its  details,  because  we  are  not  competent  as  an  association  or 
as  a  committee,  to  study  those  matters  in  detail  as  you  gentle- 
men can  well  do,  and  safeguard  your  own  constituents  in  this 
city,  but  the  general  principles  are  believed  to  be  right  and 
proper,  and  that  the  city  is  not  giving  in  this  case  more  than  it 
is  receiving  in  ultimate  actual  value.  We  believe  that  it  is 
worth  more  to  the  City  of  Chicago  to  have  this  question  of 
riparian  rights  settled  now  and  amicably,  and  the  lake  front  at 
the  disposition  of  the  people  of  the  city  to  enjoy  it  and  have  a 
boulevard  in  it,  and  to  have  it  properly  improved,  than  pos- 
sibly to  have  things  a  little  better  later  on  by  some  other  mode 
of  procedure,  either  litigation  or  otherwise,  even  though  that 
were  possible.  And  I  think  from  the  association's  standpoint, 
without  attempting  to  pass  upon  the  details  of  this  ordinance — 


99 

other  than  the  fact  that  in  general  it  is  a  desirable  ordinance, 
amended  as  you  gentlemen  may  see  fit  to  amend  it  to  safeguard 
the  interests  of  the  city — the  association  is  willing  to  stand  for 
it  and  to  approve  it,  and  to  urge  the  passage  of  that  ordinance 
so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  excepting  that  one  thing  that  we 
objected  to,  which  was  clause  9,  where  we  felt  that  there  should 
be  an  absolute  agreement  as  between  the  city  and  the  South 
Park  Board  relative  to  the  use  of  the  strip  of  ground,  especially 
from  Thirty-first  Street  south. 

The  Chaikman  :  It  is  amended,  Mr.  Wheeler.  Do  you  think 
the  amendment  is  ample? 

Mr.  Wheelee:  I  don't  believe  I  am  quite  competent  to 
pass  upon  that,  but  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  see,  I  should 
say  yes,  gentlemen,  and  I  believe  there  is  no  criticism  on  the 
ordinance  as  amended  in  that  particular.  That  is  all.  I  thank 
you. 

Mr.  Chaeues  L.  Hutchinson  :  May  I  have  the  floor  for  a 
minute? 

The  Chairman  :    Yes. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  (representing  the  South  Park  Commision- 
ers) :  Judge  Payne  is  here  and  he  asks  me  to  read  this  com- 
munication in  reply  to  the  document  presented  to  your  Com- 
mittee on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges,  by  Mr.  Pond  and 
others  yesterday.    We  beg  leave  to  make  the  following  reply : 

Chicago,  Illinois,  January  24,  1912. 

To  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  City  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

DeabSies: — Replying  to  a  document  presented  to  your  Committee  on  th« 
Harbors  and  Wharves  by  Mr.  Pond  and  others,  we  beg  leave  to  make  the 
following  reply.  Certain  statements  made  by  the  gentlemen  in  their  com- 
munication are  erroneous  and  misleading. 

1.  Under  the  contract  made  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners  with 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  the  railroad  company  will  acquire 
not  120  acres  of  submerged  lands,  as  stated,  but  108  acres  of  ground  lying 
between  the  present  breakwater  line  and  the  outside  boundary  line.  In 
the  trade,  also,  the  railroad  company  gives  to  the  South  Park  Commission- 
ers, about  81/2  acres  of  land  at  Twelfth  Street,  and  21/0  acres  of  land  at 
Thirty-seventh  Street.  Thus,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  will  acquire 
by  this  trade  about  98  acres  of  new  land  in  addition  to  that  already  occu- 
pied by  them,  instead  of  120  acres  as  claimed. 

2.  The  question  as  to  the  42  acres  of  made  land  now  occupied  by  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  now  subject  to  litigation  on  the  part 
of  the  State,  is  not  affected  by  our  contract.  That  litigation  is  now  pend- 
ing, and  its  decision  is  not  yet  concluded. 

3.  The  gentlemen  state  that  for  a  distance  of  about  two  miles,  the 
enlarged  right  of  way  will  be  660  feet  wide.  This  statement  is  misleading. 
For  a  distance  of  eight  blocks  between  Sixteenth  Street  and  Twenty-fifth 
Street,  considerably  less  than  one  mile,  an  additional  width  of  460  feet 
is  granted  by  this  contract.  Aside  from  this  strip,  a  strip  not  more  than 
200  feet  wide  is  granted  south  of  Twenty-sixth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street 

4.  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Donnersberger  values  the  land  to  be  acquired 
under  this  contract  at  or  near  Park  Row  at  $3,500,000.00.  It  is  also  true 
that  Mr.  Donnersberger  did  value  the  riparian  rights  of  the  Walker  estate 
between  Twenty-second  Street  and  Twenty-fifth  Street  at  $20.00  per  lineal 


100 

foot  several  years  ago,  but  in  attempting  to  purchase  these  riparian  rights 
from  the  Walker  Estate  the  Park  Commissioners  found  that  the  trustees 
of  the  estate  hold  these  riparian  rights  at  $100  per  foot,  or  $220,000.00.  By 
this  contract  the  South  Park  Commissioners  acquired  92  per  cent,  of  the 
riparian  rights  between  Park  Row  and  Fifty-first  Street,  amounting  to  over 
21,000  lineal  feet.  If  based  upon  the  values  set  by  the  trustees  of  the 
Walker  Estate,  they  would  be  worth  $2,100,000.00.  There  is  no  ground  for 
believing,  as  the  committee  states,  that  the  riparian  rights  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  could  be  acquired  under  condemnation  for 
$430,000.00. 

5.  The  valuation  placed  by  the  gentlemen  upon  the  submerged  land 
to  be  acquired  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  under  this  con- 
tract is  excessive.  They  have  evidently  based  the  value  of  the  land  to  be 
acquired  throughout  the  entire  length  at  the  price  set  by  Mr.  Donners- 
berger  for  the  land  at  Twelfth  Street,  while,  in  fact,  the  value  of  land  from 
Sixteenth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street  would  not  average  more  than  $1.00 
a  square  foot,  which  is  only  one-third  of  the  valuation  placed  upon  it  by  the 
gentlemen. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  will  acquire  108  acres  of  addi- 
tional submerged  lands  Instead  of  162  acres,  as  the  committee  states.  We 
value  this  108  acres  of  land  or  4,700,000  square  feet  at  $1.00  a  square  foot, 
making  $4,700,000.00.  To  this  we  will  add  the  value  placed  by  the  gentle- 
men upon  the  20,000  square  feet  acquired  by  the  vacation  of  streets  and 
alleys,  of  $200,000.00,  making  a  total  value  of  land  to  be  acquired  by  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  of  $4,900,000.00.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  however,  that  this  submerged  land  must  be  filled  by  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  at  its  own  expense.  The  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners will  receive  land  valued  at  $3,500,000.00  and  over  21,000  lineal  feet 
of  riparian  rights,  which  enables  them  to  acquire  and  improve  for  park 
purposes,  according  to  the  present  plan,  about  1,550  acres.  If  we  should 
figure  the  value  of  this  land  at  the  price  assumed  by  the  gentlemen  in 
making  the  valuations  presented  to  the  committee,  it  would  be  worth  to 
the  City  of  Chicago  over  $186,000,000.00,  which,  on  the  face  of  it,  is  absurd. 

There  are  other  valuable  considerations  granted  to  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  by  this  contract,  such  as  the  right  to  extend  all  streets  north 
of  Twelfth  Street,  for  their  full  width,  across  the  present  right  of  way 
of  the  railroad  in  Grant  Park,  and  to  cover  100  feet  of  the  present  right  of 
way  for  its  entire  length  from  Park  Row  to  Monroe  Street.  The  Park 
Commissioners  also  have  the  right  to  extend  across  the  tracks  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company  south  of  Twelfth  Street  four  viaducts  in 
every  mile,  and  to  bring  South  Park  Avenue  extended  across  its  right  of 
way. 

By  this  contract  the  city  is  enabled  to  carry  out  its  plan  for  establish- 
ing Harbour  District  Number  3,  without  any  expense  to  the  city  for  riparian 
rights. 

The  South  Park  Commissioners  entered  into  these  negotiations  to  se- 
cure the  lake  front  to  the  people,  and  to  put  it  in  the  power  of  the  public 
to  carry  out  the  plan  of  the  City  Plan  Commission.  The  commissioners 
believe  that  they  have  made  a  fair  contract  with  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company.  It  is  also  their  opinion  that  the  public  after  consideration 
will  sustain  them  in  this  belief. 

We  do  not  believe  that  the  gentlemen  presenting  this  petition  appre- 
ciate the  great  advantages  that  will  accrue  to  the  people  of  Chicago  by  the 
carrying  out  of  the  plan  now  presented. 

Yours  very  truly, 

John  Barton  Payne, 
C.  L.  Hutchinson, 
Joseph  Donnebsbebgeb, 

South  Park  Commissioners. 


101 

Mr.  Cummins:  I  have  nothing  to  say  at  this  time.  I  sim- 
ply wanted  to  ask  the  committee  for  the  courtesy  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  submit  something  in  reply  to  the  figures  for  computa- 
tion presented  in  the  paper  just  read  by  Mr.  Hutchinson;  if  we 
find  that  desirable  to  do  before  the  matter  is  finally  concluded 
by  the  committee  at  its  convenience,  we  should  like  to  have  an 
opportunity  to  be  heard. 

The  Chairman:     How  long  will  that  take? 

Aid.  Emerson  :  If  they  want  to  make  a  reply,  I  think  they 
ought  to  have  the  opportunity  if  it  takes  a  week  or  two  weeks. 
Let's  get  down  to  a  good  valuation  basis  on  this  thing  here, 
both  sides.  I  make  a  motion  we  allow  the  gentleman  to  produce 
Ms  figures  as  soon  as  possible.  If  he  can  do  it  tomorrow,  let 
him  do  it,  or  next  week. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  :  We  have  had  only  one  day  in  which  to 
answer.  We  worked  on  that  communication  all  the  morning, 
and,  Mr.  Chairman,  we  do  not  want  to  delay  it  any  longer  than 
necessary. 

Mr.  Cummins:  I  think  we  can  be  ready  at  3  o'clock  to- 
morrow afternoon. 

Mr.  King  :  The  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  reference 
to  the  8^  acres  of  land  where  the  rights  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  were  concerned,  was  after  the  order  had  passed  the 
present  administration.    That  is  all  you  have  reference  to. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  :  No,  but  that  is  only  my  private  opinion. 
That  is  not  a  part  of  our  official  report. 

Mr.  KuNz :    That  is  after  the  order  had  been  passed. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  :    No. 

Mr.  KuNz:     That  is  the  way  I  understood  it. 

Mr.  John  Barton  Payne  (Chairman  of  the  South  Park 
Commissioners) :  The  case  he  refers  to  was  the  case  between 
the  State  of  Illinois  and  the  City  of  Chicago,  which  was  de- 
cided by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  It  was  be- 
fore the  ordinance  of  1895  was  passed. 

Mr.  Chairman,  and  members  of  the  conunittee,  I  have  not 
felt  you  expected  me  or  members  of  the  Park  Board  to  appear 
before  you  to  discuss  this  matter  because,  like  yourselves,  we 
are  a  public  body  and  we  have  acted  according  to  our  best  light, 
not  secretly  or  in  a  comer,  as  somebody  has  suggested  here,  I 
understand,  and  our  work  is  before  the  City  of  Chicago  for  ap- 
proval or  disapproval.  And  if  you  think  it  is  not  well  done,  or 
if  you  do  not  approve  of  what  has  been  done,  the  understanding 
from  the  beginning  has  been  that  our  work  has  been  tentative. 
The  final  approval  of  the  subject  was  with  the  Mayor  and  the 
Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago.  Perhaps  you  would  like  to 
know  very  briefly  how  this  matter  came  about;  and  what  our 
view  is  as  to  what  the  city  has  accomplished.     Months  ago  it 


102 

was  manifest  in  considering  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission,  in 
considering  our  own  South  Park  development,  in  considering 
the  fact  that  we  had  a  great  lake  here,  which,  for  miles,  was  of 
no  use  and  could  not  be  reached  by  the  people  except  with  great 
difficulty,  and  then  at  only  an  occasional  place,  that  the  South 
Park  Board  was  in  a  position,  by  virtue  of  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  of  Illinois,  to  bring  about  a  situation,  if  a  trade  of 
that  kind  could  be  made,  by  which  the  public  would  own  the 
lake  front,  and  by  which  people  on  Halsted  Street  on  the  West 
Side,  by  reason  of  the  widening  of  Twelfth  Street,  and  its  ex- 
tension to  the  lake,  would  be  as  near  the  lake  and  have  as  much 
access  to  the  lake  as  the  people  at  Randolph  Street.  That  is 
the  distance  I  am  measuring  from  north  to  south. 

In  other  words,  that  in  the  immediate  present,  the  great 
opportunity  of  Chicago  for  development  was  in  this  direction. 
Now,  the  South  Park  Board  did  not  act  hastily  nor  did  not  act  on 
its  own  responsibility  in  the  first  instance.  I  conferred  with 
the  chairman  of  your  committee,  not  this  committeee,  but 
Chairman  Long,  he  is  chairman  of  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation 
Committee,  the  committee  to  which  that  subject,  as  I  under- 
stand the  facts,  went.  I  conferred  with  the  Mayor.  I  kept  him 
in  touch  with  every  step  that  was  going  on.  I  wrote  him  about 
it,  and  I  called  and  saw  him  about  it.  I  conferred  with  your 
Corporation  Counsel.  Not  only  that,  but  I  wrote  extensively  to 
the  publishers  of  the  great  metropolitan  papers  in  Chicago, 
and  I  told  them  what  we  were  proposing  to  do,  and  asked  them 
to  consider  the  question,  and  to  study  the  question,  and  to  be 
in  a  position  to  advise  us  as  to  whether  we  ought  to  make  a 
trade,  and  ultimately  to  pass  upon  the  merits  of  the  trade  when 
made. 

Now,  that  situation  covered  a  considerable  period  of  time; 
I  should  say  two  or  three  months  at  least,  and  finally  these 
negotiations,  occupying  days,  I  have  no  idea  how  many;  Mr. 
Charles  L.  Hutchinson  and  Mr.  Joseph  Donnersberger  all  nego- 
tiating. I  kept  as  closely  in  touch  with  it  as  I  could.  Mr.  Hutch- 
inson and  Mr.  Donnersberger,  I  am  advised  by  them,  and  I 
have  personal  knowledge  myself,  were  constantly  in  touch  with 
Mr.  E.  B.  Butler  and  Mr.  Charles  H.  Wacker,  and  other  gentle- 
men, representing  the  Chicago  Plan.  I  am  telling  you  this  so 
that  you  may  know  that  every  step  was  deliberately  considered. 
When  the  contract  w^as  in  the  shape  where  it  seemed  to  us  that 
we  had  made  the  best  trade  possible — the  contract  was  not 
signed, — a  meeting  was  held  at  which  was  represented  every 
newspaper  in  Chicago,  ever>'  daily  paper — I  mean  English  and 
German — the  Mayor,  Corporation  Counsel,  Chairman  Long  of 
the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Committee,  Mr.  Wacker,  Mr.  But- 
ler, Mr.  McCormick,  who  was  Chairman  of  the  State  Commit- 


103 

tee  having  to  do  with  submerged  land,  Mr.  R.  R.  McCormick, 
and  I  don't  know  who  else — oh,  yes,  the  United  States  engineer 
in  charge  of  the  harbor;  and  the  contract,  not  signed,  was  laid 
before  these  gentlemen,  with  a  statement  of  what  it  meant  to 
Chicago ;  with  a  statement  of  exactly  what  the  Illinois  Central 
was  to  get  in  detail,  and  the  number  of  acres ;  just  what  it  pro- 
posed to  do,  and  every  fact  that  was  in  existence  at  that  time 
covering  the  subject;  and  I,  speaking  for  the  South  Park  Board, 
said  we  desired  to  he  informed  whether  that  trade  should  be 
made.  And  we  were  very  much  gratified,  and  I  state  now,  with 
a  great  deal  of  pride,  that  there  was  not  a  single  dissenting 
voice.  Every  gentlemen  to  whom  the  matter  was  submitted,  ap- 
proved without  qualification  or  criticism  the  result  of  our  work. 
After  this  meeting,  I  think,  perhaps,  the  next  day,  the  contract 
was  signed — maybe  not  the  next  day,  I  am  not  sure  about  that, 
but  a  few  days ;  and  it  was  formally  transmitted  to  the  City  of 
Chicago,  to  the  Mayor. 

Now,  gentlemen,  what  does  it  mean,  my  friend,  Mr.  Cum- 
mins, talking  about  figures'?  There  are  situations  that  are  not 
to  be  measured  by  figures.  We  may  sit  down  here  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  and  discuss  figures  with  gentlemen  who  do  not 
stand  for  progress,  for  accomplishment,  and  for  the  ultimate 
ujjbuilding  of  our  city.  The  gentlemen  who  do  stand  for  all 
those  things  may  differ  as  to  the  value  of  a  strip  of  land:  but 
they  cannot  differ  as  to  the  wisdom  of  giving  to  the  people  of 
Chicago  its  lake  front. 

Now,  just  a  word  about  value.  It  is  stated  in  this  com- 
munication by  Mr.  Pond  and  these  gentlemen  that  we  did  not 
consider  the  question  of  values.  That  is,  I  am  sure,  merely  an 
inaccuracy,  because  these  gentlemen,  most  of  them,  are  friends 
of  mine,  and  I  give  them  credit  for  being  just  as  honest  as  I 
lam  myself,  but  we  do  not  see  things  in  the  same  way.  We  did 
consider  these  values  with  very  great  consideration.  Now,  I 
had  in  my  hand  the  estimate  made  by  our  General  Superin- 
tendent, Frank  Foster,  a  man  'all  of  you  know,  who  has  been 
Superintendent  of  the  South  Park  System  between  twenty-five 
and  thirty  years  or  more;  a  more  capable,  high-minded  intelli- 
gent man  does  not  exist  in  Chicago,  in  dealing  with  the  subject 
:that  we  are  here  considering.  He  figures  that  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral, after  deducting  the  cost  of  filling,  gets  lands  ultimately 
worth  $9,528,700.73,  and  considering  the  strip  600  feet  only  in 
width,  and  paying  no  attention  to  Mr.  Hutchinson's  suggestion 
about  the  possibility  of  a  1,500-acre  park,  which  I  will  get  to  in 
a  moment,  the  fact  of  considering  the  possibility  of  a  600  foot 
strip  only,  amounts  to  $16,651,995.00,  or  a  difference  in  our 
favor  of  something  Uke  $7,000,000.00. 

Now,  I  do  not  ask  anybody  to  take  Mr.  Foster's  figures, 


]04 

or  anybody  else's  figures.  The  truth  about  the  matter  is  that  it 
is  a  thing  that  cannot  be  measured  in  figures. 

What  is  the  fact?  The  fact  is — and  it  is  no  use  to  quarrel 
with  facts — the  Illinois  Central  owns,  except  the  Walker  tract, 
the  riparian  rights  from  the  south  line  of  Grant  Park,  subject 
to  what  the  city  ovms  at  that  point,  to  Fifty-first  Street.  The 
Illinois  Central  can  make  no  use  of  those  riparian  rights,  but 
we  are  as  completely  cut  off  from  any  possibilities  of  using  the 
lake  front  as  if  they  could  use  those  rights.  We,  on  the  other 
hand — I  mean  the  Park  Board — by  virtue  of  the  State  legisla- 
tion have  the  power,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Courts  and 
the  City  of  Chicago,  to  use  those  submereged  lands  when  and 
after  we  acquire  these  riparian  rights ;  but  until  we  acquire  the 
riparian  rights  we  cannot  use  a  foot  of  the  lake  front. 

Now,  there  is  the  situation ;  and  it  is  no  use  quarreling  with 
it;  that  exists  now,  and  it  is  said  in  this  paper,  that  we  have 
not  been  able  to  get  any  legislation  which  authorizes  us  to  con- 
demn these  riparian  rights.  That  is  the  fact.  We  have  no  legal 
right  to  condemn,  no  power  on  earth  of  condemnation;  but 
this  pamphlet — I  am  speaking  now  of  the  objections  filed  by 
Mr.  Pond  and  others — blames  that  fact  upon  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad.  Of  course,  that  is  an  imputation  that  the  legis- 
lature is  under  the  control  of  the  railroad.  I  decline  to  assent 
to  that  imputation.  I  am  inclined  to  find  people  pretty  nearly 
as  honest  as  the  rest  of  us.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  we  confront 
a  condition.  Of  course,  the  Legislature  has  power  to  give  us  the 
right  to  condemn,  but  they  have  never  done  it,  and  they  may 
not  do  it;  and  on  the  other  hand  they  may  do  it;  but  in  the 
meantime  what  happens?  The  public  loses  the  Field  Museum 
from  Grant  Park  or  from  that  vicinity.  The  public  is  cut  off 
from  the  lake  front.  The  improvement  from  the  West  Side  by 
way  of  Twelfth  Street  is  not  possible,  and  our  great  plan  of 
improving  Grant  Park  with  a  stadium  which  would  make  us 
conspicuous  in  the  civilized  world  in  athletics  is  impossible,  be- 
cause before  we  can  do  it,  we  have  got  to  have  the  right  which 
this  contract  gives  us  to  cross  the  Illinois  Central  by  a  sufiicient 
amount  of  space  to  carry  this  stadium  over  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral. 

Now,  do  not  misunderstand  me.  I  do  not  mean  that  we 
cannot  put  up  a  stadium  on  the  east  side  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  in  some  form.  We  can.  But  to  make  something 
which  is  something  worthy  of  Chicago  is  impossible.  That  is 
what  I  mean. 

Now,  Mr.  Hutchinson  remarked  that  this  contract  gives  us 
the  right  to  cover  over  the  Illinois  Central  50  feet  on  the  east 
side,  50  feet  on  the  west  from  Grant  Park  north  to  Monroe,  and 
on  the  west  side  all  the  way  to  Randolph  Street.    It  would  be  a 


105 

very  different  situation  to  have  a  hole  iOO  feet  than  the  present 
200  feet.  And  the  effect  of  this  is  to  remove,  as  I  am  advised,  some- 
thing like  70  or  75  per  cent,  of  the  switching  transfer  work  of 
the  Illinois  Central  from  Grant  Park  south  of  Twelfth  Street; 
and  I  have  explained  that  Twelfth  Street  is  extended.  We  get 
the  85  feet  necessary  to  get  at  the  width  which  you  have  on 
the  west  side,  and  that  is  carried  clear  through,  occuping  the 
ground  in  part  which  the  present  station  of  the  Illinois  Central 
occupies,  and  is  carried  clear  through  to  the  lake;  the  Field 
Museum  to  be  south  of  Twelfth  Street,  and  facing  Twelfth 
Street  on  the  north. 

Now,  if  my  friends  who  signed  this  petition  can  suggest 
any  means  by  which  these  things  can  be  accomplished  differ- 
ently, better  or  other,  than  those  we  have  suggested,  I  should 
be  delighted  to  consider  it.  There  is  not  a  gentlemen  who  has 
anything  to  do  with  this  that  has  any  personal  interest  in  the 
subject-matter.  It  is  purely  a  great  public  enterprise,  and  it 
seems  to  us,  and  it  seems  to  me  now,  that  Chicago  is  coming 
into  her  own  by  this  trade,  and  she  is  writing  a  chapter  in  his- 
tory which  will  redound  to  the  credit  of  every  man  who  stands 
for  this  proposition.    I  thank  you,  gentlemen. 

The  Chairman  :  Is  there  anybody  else  who  wishes  to  be 
heard,  for  or  against? 

Aid.  Geiger  :  There  were  some  amendments  suggested  yes- 
terday by  the  Corporation  Counsel. 

Mr.  Sexton  (Corporation  Counsel) :  I  take  it  you  refer 
to  the  amendments  of  the  Sanitary  District. 

Aid.  Geiger:    There  was  one  other  referred  to  yesterday. 

Mr.  Sexton  :    I  do  not  recall  it. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  :  I  think  possibly  that  clause  regarding 
the  pumping  station  might  be  eliminated.  We  might  wrestle 
with  that  later,  if  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  committee. 

Mr.  EtEdeield:  It  can  be  made  a  part  of  a  separate  ordi- 
nance when  that  comes  up.  It  did  have  a  place  in  the  ordinance 
as  originally  drafted,  but  now  it  is  of  no  purpose. 

Mr.  Hutchinson:  I  see  no  reason  for  that  clause  about 
the  pumping  station. 

Mr.  Sexton:  The  pumping  station  can  be  covered  by  an 
appropriate  amendment.  There  will  be  a  good  deal  of  time  and 
we  can  refer  that  to  the  committee. 

Mr.  Redfield:  As  far  as  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
are  concerned  the  provision  in  reference  to  the  Thirty-ninth 
Street  station  is  not  necessary.  If  it  is,  it  can  be  treated  in  a 
further  ordinance  when  selecting  another  site,  if  that  time  ever 
comes. 

Aid.  Long  :    I  take  it  the  amendment  has  no  bearing  at  all 


106 

on  the  merits  of  this  proposition,  bnt  as  a  matter  of  precaution 
it  ought  to  go  in  to  make  the  ordinance  complete. 

Mr.  Sexton:  They  submitted  that  ordinance  to  me  this 
afternoon  at  approximately  3:30  o'clock.  The  matter  can  be 
taken  care  of  in  this  ordinance. 

Aid.  Long  :  If  there  are  no  others  that  desire  to  be  heard, 
and  as  Mr.  Cummins  has  requested  a  little  time  to  reply  to  Mr. 
Hutchinson,  it  seems  to  me  we  ought  to  adjourn  until  some  hour 
tomorrow  when  a  final  hearing  can  be  had,  and  then  at  that 
time  take  up  all  the  amendments  and  have  a  complete  ordinance 
voted  upon.  I  move,  therefore,  if  there  is  nothing  further  be- 
fore the  committee,  that  we  adjourn  until  3 :30  tomorrow  after- 
noon. 

Aid.  Brennan  :  It  can  go  over  to  some  date  when  they  can 
be  heard. 

Aid.  Long  :    They  can  be  heard  now. 

Mr.  Cummins  :  I  have  explained  the  situation  when  I  was 
on  my  feet  before.  It  is  of  course  the  very  shortest  possible 
time  in  which  we  could  meet.  If  the  committee  should  adjourn 
until  day  after  tomorrow,  instead  of  tomorrow,  it  would  cer- 
tainly suit  us  better,  but  I  do  not  desire  to  urge  that.  And  if 
the  committee  meet  tomorrow,  we  will  do  the  best  we  can. 

The  Chairman  :  I  would  as  soon  not  make  the  appointment 
for  tomorrow,  because  tomorrow  we  will  have  the  Southern 
Traction  matter  up  and  it  will  take  practically  all  of  the  after- 
noon, and  some  of  the  members  of  this  committee  are  vitally  in- 
terested in  the  Southern  Traction  Ordinance,  and  there  is  noth- 
ing on  Friday  except  the  Finance  Committee,  and  if  any  mem- 
bers on  this  committee  are  on  the  Finance  Committee,  they  will 
be  able  to  come  in  here  and  sit  on  this  committee,  and  that  will 
give  Mr.  Cummins  an  opportunity  to  have  his  data  in  such 
shape  as  he  can  present  it  to  the  committee. 

Mr.  Cummins  :  May  I  ask  that  the  South  Park  Board  hand 
me  a  copy  of  the  statement  which  was  read?  I  have  not  been 
able  to  get  one  yet. 

Moved  and  seconded  that  the  committee  adjourn  to  meet 
at  3  o'clock  on  next  Friday  afternoon,  January  26,  1912. 

Motion  carried  unanimously. 

The  Chairman  :  I  would  like  to  have  a  full  committee  here 
on  Friday.  I  would  like  to  have  every  member  of  the  com.rait- 
tee  here.  This  is  of  double  importance  and  I  don't  want  to  as- 
sume the  responsibility  of  passing  this  with  just  a  bare  quorum. 
We  will  now  adjourn  to  meet  Friday  at  3  o'clock. 

Whereupon  the  meeting  was  adjourned  until  Fridav,  Jan- 
uary 26,  1912,  at  3  o'clock  p.  m. 


107 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON   HAKBORS,  RIVERS  AND  WHARVES 
OF   THE    CITY    COUNCIL.   OF    THE   CITY    OF    CHICAGO. 

Friday,  January  26,  1912,  3  o'clock  p.  m. 


Alderman  Littler,  the  chairman,  called  the  meeting  to  order. 

Secretary  Harrah  then  read  the  roll,  showing  the  follow- 
ing members  of  the  committee  present,  to-wit:  Aldermen  Lit- 
tler, Long,  Brennan,  Emerson,  Nance,  Block,  Buckley,  Kunz, 
Geiger  and  Hey.  The  following  gentlemen  were  also  present: 
Mayor  Carter  H.  Harrison,  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Sexton,  Corporation 
Counsel ;  Mr.  Robert  Redfield,  counsel  for  the  South  Park  Board, 
and  Mr.  Charles  H.  Wacker,  chairman,  Chicago  Plan  Commis- 
sion. 

The  Chairman  :  The  committee  will  come  to  order.  This 
is  an  adjourned  meeting,  gentlemen,  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
a  little  further  light  on  this  proposition  between  the  South  Park 
Board,  the  Illinois  Central  and  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  it  will 
be  a  public  hearing,  and  I  have  before  me  the  names  of  several 
gentlemen  who  wish  to  be  heard,  and  the  first  gentleman  I  will 
ask  to  address  the  committee  will  be  Mr.  E.  U.  Kimbark,  pres- 
ident of  the  Association  of  Commerce. 

Mr.  Kimbark:  Mr.  Chairman,  gentlemen  of  the  commit- 
tee, I  didn't  come  here  today  to  address  the  committee  on  the 
subject,  but  merely  to  present  a  resolution  of  the  Chicago  As- 
sociation of  Commerce,  passed  at  a  meeting  of  its  Executive 
Committee  today.  This  resolution  was  passed  by  our  commit- 
tee in  order  that  the  position  of  the  Association  of  Commerce 
should  be  distinctly  and  concretely  understood.  With  your  per- 
mission I  will  read  the  resolution.     It  is  as  follows : 

Chicago,  Itx.,  January  26,  1912. 
Hon.  Harry  E.  Littler,  Chairvian. 

Dear  Sib: — We  beg  to  advise  you  that  the  Chicago  Association  of  Com- 
merce, acting  through  its  Executive  Committee,  has  this  day  passed  a  reso- 
lution as  follows: 

Whereas,  there  is  now  pending  before  the  Committee  on  Harbors, 
Wharves  and  Bridges,  of  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  an  ordi- 
nance in  respect  to  certain  matters  connected  with  the  execution  of  a  cer- 
tain contract  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  South 
Park  Commissioners,  referring  particularly  to  certain  submerged  and  other 
lands  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  between  Grant  and  Jackson  Parks, 
and  the  relocation  of  the  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History;  and 

Whereas,  said  ordinance  as  now  proposed  has  been  carefully  considered 
by  this  committee,  and  is  deemed  to  be  in  the  public  interest,  now  therefore. 

Be  it  Resolved,  That  the  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce  does  hereby 
endorse  said  ordinance,  and  respectfully  urges  a  favorable  report  upon  the 
same  to  the  City  Council. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce. 
I  By  E.  U.  Kimbark,  its  President. 


108 

That  is  all  I  have  to  say,  Mr.  Chairman. 

The  Chairman  :  Just  make  that  a  part  of  the  record  so  as 
to  take  it  up  in  the  regular  order.  Mr.  Fred  Rush  is  present,  I 
believe.    We  will  hear  from  Mr.  Rush. 

Aid.  Geiger  :  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Kimbark  if  that  was 
unanimous  ? 

Mr.  Kimbark  :  Absolutely  unanimous,  yes,  sir,  not  a  dis- 
senting vote,  practically  the  full  committee  voting,  twenty-one 
out  of  twenty-three. 

Aid.  Geiger  :  Who  is  the  proper  body  of  your  association 
to  take  up  such  matters'? 

Mr.  Kimbark:  The  Executive  Committee  takes  up  such 
matters. 

Aid.  Geiger:  Don't  you  think  it  ought  to  be  taken  up  by 
the  full  association? 

Mr.  Kimbark:  There  is  no  way  by  which  it  can  be  done. 
The  Executive  Committee,  under  the  by-laws,  are  authorized 
to  act  for  the  association.  They  represent  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors, they  represent  all  members  of  the  association,  all  in- 
terests. 

Aid.  Geiger:    Were  all  the  members  at  this  meeting? 

Mr.  Kimbark  :  I  believe  there  were  twenty-one  out  of  twen- 
ty-three. 

Aid.  Geiger:    It  was  unanimous,  was  it? 

Mr.  Kimbark:     Yes,  sir. 

Aid.  KuNz:  I  understand  this  is  a  resolution  passed  by 
the  Board  of  Directors. 

Mr.  Kimbark  :    By  the  Executive  Committee. 

Aid  KuNz :    Of  the  Association  of  Commerce  ? 

Mr.  Kimbark:     Yes,  sir. 

Aid.  Kunz:  Did  your  association  make  any  effort  in  the 
last  Legislature  to  have  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislature  for 
the  purpose  of  condemning  that  property,  that  you  know  of? 

Mr.  Kimbark  :  I  think  not,  unless  it  might  come  along  the 
lines  of  our  efforts  for  the  purpose  of  securing  an  outer  harbor. 

Aid.  Geiger:  Do  you  know  if  your  organization  took  part 
in  having  a  bill  of  that  kind  passed  or  not,  Mr.  Kimbark? 

Mr.  Kimbark:    I  do  not. 

The  Chairman:  We  will  now  hear  from  Mr.  Fred  Rush 
of  Kenwood,  Chicago. 

Mr.  Rush:  Mr.  Chairman,  some  few  days  ago  I  was  re- 
quested by  some  of  the  officers  of  the  Improvement  Associations 
down  that  way  to  look  at  the  terms  of  'the  ordinance  to  see  if 
it  had  provisions  in  it  that  might  prevent  the  operation  of  the 
streets  behind  Kenwood  and  Madison  Park  and  Forty-third 
Street,  as  a  railroad  or  smtching  yard,  or  any  such  uses,  and 
we  were  very  pleased  to  know  that  the  committee  had  evidently 


109 

had  that  matter  under  careful  consideration,  and  had  language 
in  the  ordinance  which  was  intended  to  cover  that  point  very 
carefully,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  we  were  better  pleased  this 
morning  when  we  read  in  the  newspapers  that  the  Chief  ExecU' 
tive  of  our  city  expressed  himself  as  also  having  an  opinion 
on  that  subject,  namely,  that  the  section  of  the  right  of  way 
south  of  Fifty-first  Street  was  not  going  to  be  used  for  a  rail- 
road yard  or  general  switching  yard  or  anythiug  of  that  sort. 

I  understand  that  the  Executive  of  the  City  of  Chicago 
and  the  gentlemen  who  are  interested  in  drawing  up  this  or- 
dinance are  of  one  opinion  in  that  regard,  namely,  that  they  do 
not  think  that  the  road  should  use  that  portion  of  the  right 
of  way.  I  understand  that  it  owns  part  of  that,  and  I  think 
in  talking  to  gentlemen  who  have  that  matter  under  favorable 
consideration  that  they  will  look  to  the  committee  for  it. 

A  suggestion  which  I  have  to  make  on  behalf  of  these  as- 
sociations is  this,  that  the  language,  ''to  be  used  for  railroad 
purposes" — I  know  there  are  some  restrictions  in  there;  for 
instance,  that  they  can  use  it  for  passenger  stations  and  rail- 
road purposes,  and  so  forth,  and  that  they  cannot  have  any 
freight  houses,  and  so  forth,  on  that  portion  of  the  right  of 
way,  and,  if  you  please,  we  wish  to  suggest  for  your  favorable 
consideration  some  language  something  like  this,  that  while 
trackage  may  be  used  for  incidental  switching  purposes,  it  shall 
not  be  used — I  am  not  suggesting  formal  language — we  will  be 
glad  to  help  formulate  this  language,  if  you  please,  but  I  will 
suggest  the  idea,  that  is,  that  the  trackage  shall  not  be  used 
for  switching  purposes  in  general  nor  for  the  storage  of  cars 
in  general,  making  a  railroad  yard  of  it. 

I  want  the  gentlemen  to  know  that  the  Improvement  Asso- 
ciations, and  that  those  officers  I  have  been  in  conference  with, 
are  very  heartily  in  favor  of  this  general  proposition.  It 
means  more  to  us,  perhaps,  that  it  does  to  the  city  elsewhere. 
We  are  right  down  there  in  that  locality,  and  we  believe  most 
heartily  in  this  general  proposition,  and  inasmuch  as  the  Illi- 
nois Central  says  that  it  does  not  intend  to  use  that  right  of 
way  any  different  there,  now,  I  think  this  is  the  time,  if  any, 
that  we  should  put  language  in  that  ordinance  that  will  pre- 
vent what  I  think  is  the  choicest  residence  section  in  the  world, 
at  least  as  choice  as  any,  from  being  next  to  a  railroad  yard 
or  switching  yard,  the  noises  of  which  will  be  heard  over  an 
area  of  a  mile  at  least,  and  if  you  will  kindly  give  the  same 
consideration  that  you  seem  to  have  done  to  this  subject,  and 
make  that  clause  as  reasonable  as  possible. 

Of  course,  the  railroad  has  to  have  switching  in  there,  it 
will  have  to  use  switches  for  incidental  purposes,  but  I  think 
we  can  formulate  language  which  will  make  it  impossible  to 


use  that  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Thirty-first  Street  for 
what  would  amount  to  a  general  freight  yard.  Gentlemen,  it 
will  be  a  great  physical  advantage  to  the  City  of  Chicago  up 
to  Thirty-first  Street,  the  thing  as  planned  by  the  ordinance 
now. 

Now,  gentlemen,  if  you  give  them  the  same  rights  or  any- 
thing like  the  same  rights  south  of  Thirty-first  Street,  you  will 
help  to  destroy  the  most  beautiful  residence  section  in  our  city. 
I  thank  you. 

The  Chairman  :  Are  there  any  members  of  the  committee 
who  have  any  questions  they  wish  to  ask  Mr.  Bush?  We  will 
next  listen  to  George  C.  Sikes. 

Mr.  George  C.  Sikes:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  appear  in  behalf 
of  the  gentlemen  who  signed  a  statement  here  the  other  day, 
statements  in  w^hich  have  been  challenged,  and  in  that  state- 
ment, which  primarily  related  to  the  financial  figures,  and  which 
were  challenged,  it  seems  to  us  that  not  much  attention  was 
paid  to  the  others,  so  what  we  have  to  say  is  divided  into  two 
statements.  I  am  to  make  one  which  deals  with  the  issues 
which  w^e  tliink  they  have  not  replied  to,  and  another  gentleman, 
Mr.  Morton  D.  Hull,  will  reply,  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon, 
to  those  who  have  taken  issue  witli  the  figures  that  were  made 
on  the  valuation. 

In  their  replies  to  the  statement  opposing  the  ratification  of 
the  agreement  between  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  and  the 
South  Park  Board,  the  supporters  of  that  agreement  confine 
themselves  almost  entirely  to  the  one  question  of  the  compara^ 
tive  money  values  of  the  lands  and  riparian  rights  involved  in 
the  transaction.  They  have  ignored  altogether  what  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  agreement  regard  as  far  more  serious  objections. 

We  said  in  the  statement  submitted,  and  we  reiterate : 

1.  That  the  privileges  granted  to  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road by  this  ordinance  defeat  in  large  measure  the  purposes 
which  the  supporters  of  the  agreement  have  in  mind :  beautifica^ 
tion  and  accessibility  to  the  people  of  the  proposed  outer  park- 
way. The  widening  of  the  railroad  right  of  way  to  660  feet, 
with  no  restrictions  on  smoking  locomotives,  is  inconsistent  with 
the  City  Beautiful  idea. 

2.  That  the  grant  by  this  ordinance,  in  perpetuity,  of 
larger  railroad  franchise  rights  than  the  Illinois  Central  needs 
on  its  own  account,  gives  to  that  company  the  power  either  to 
create  on  the  lake  front  a  great  freight  yard  for  the  joint  use 
of  many  railroads  or  to  dictate  the  terms  on  which  other  rail- 
roads may  enter  the  city,  if  it  be  decided  to  make  the  widened 
right  of  way  serve  as  an  avenue  of  approach  for  transportation 
companies  in  need  of  transportation  facilities. 

3.  That  it  is  immoral  and  subversive  of  public  rights  to 


Ill 

permit  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  to  capitalize  its 
control  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State. 

The  present  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
is  200  feet  wide.  A  right  of  way  of  this  width,  with  smoking 
locomotives,  is  sufficient  to  constitute  an  intolerable  nuisance 
on  the  lake  front.  The  new  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central, 
if  the  pending  ordinance  be  ratified  by  the  Council,  will  be 
about  600  feet  wide,  accommodating  forty-five  to  fifty  tracks, 
for  about  two  miles  south  of  Twelfth  Street.  For  the  remain- 
der of  the  distance  to  Fifty-first  Street,  the  width  of  the  en- 
larged right  of  way  will  run  from  400  to  450  feet.  This  gives 
more  trackage  than  the  Illinois  Central  can  use  for  its  own 
purposes.  To  what  use  is  the  enlarged  right  of  way  to  be  put? 
The  Illinois  Central  alone  is  authorized  by  the  ordinance  to 
answer  that  question.  The  broad  grant  of  power  conferred  is 
sufficient  to  warrant  any  railroad  use.  If  a  freight  yard  shall 
be  created,  the  difficulties  of  electrification  will  be  enormously 
increased.  By  this  ordinance  the  Illinois  Central  secures  for 
itself  all  the  favors  it  is  likely  to  want  from  the  governing 
authorities  of  Chicago  for  years  to  come,  and  it  tal^es  upon 
itself  no  obligations  in  return  whatever,  as  to  electrification. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  authorized  to  make  itself  more  of  a  nui- 
sance on  the  lake  front,  by  added  trackage  and  by  increased 
smoke  and  soot. 

The  lake  and  the  outer  parkway  are  moved  further  away 
from  the  people.  To  reach  either,  the  people  must  cross  a 
smoky  maze  of  railroad  tracks  660  feet  wide.  The  long  and 
costly  approaches  to  the  viaducts  that  will  be  necessary  will  in- 
crease the  distance  and  injure  property  values  to  the  west  of 
the  railroad.  Will  the  South  Park  authorities  seriously  con- 
tend that  vegetation  can  be  made  to  grow  successfully  near 
such  a  right  of  way  used  by  steam  locomotives  1  Without  vege- 
tation, how  can  there  be  a  beautiful  park?  If  the  answer  be 
that  the  Illinois  Central  will  electrify  some  day,  will  the  sup- 
porters of  this  agreement  tell  the  public  on  what  the  hope  is 
based,  except  the  possession  by  the  public  of  powers  of  com- 
pulsion, some  of  the  most  important  of  which  are  surrendered 
by  this  ordinance? 

This  ordinance  is  more  than  a  grant  of  lake  front  lands 
to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  in  fee  simple.  It  is 
a  perpetual  franchise  for  railroad  purposes,  broad  in  its  terms 
and  contractual  in  form.  Why  should  the  Council  approve  a 
franchise  grant  of  this  nature  without  careful  consideration 
of  all  phases  of  the  fundamental  transportation  problem  in- 
volved? 

If  lake  front  lands  now  owned  by  the  public  are  to  be 
filled  in  and  used  for  railroad  purposes,  possibly  as  a  great  joint 


Ill: 

freight  yard,  or  possibly  for  the  terminal  accommodation  of 
other  railroads  seeking  entrance  to  the  city,  why  should  not  the 
city  know  in  advance  what  the  plan  is  to  be,  so  that  it  might 
reserve  proper  powers  of  control?  Or  why  should  not  the 
public  retain  the  title  and  itself  make  leases  direct  to  the  rail- 
roads needing  the  facilities?  Why  should  the  Illinois  Central 
be  granted  public  lands  with  which  to  speculate  for  its  own 
benefit  in  the  future  needs  of  the  community  for  railroad  ter- 
minal facilities! 

And  what  about  the  fundamental  moral  question  involved 
in  this  proposition?  Is  the  community  that  doggedly  fought 
the  traction  war  to  final  victory,  at  great  sacrifice  to  its  own 
interests  in  many  ways,  primarily  on  moral  lines,  going  to  per- 
mit its  moral  fibre  to  give  way  in  order  to  bring  about  just  a 
little  sooner  a  plan  of  beautification  that  cannot  be  long  de- 
layed in  any  event?  What  shall  it  avail  to  denounce  the  legis- 
latures of  Illinois  if  the  beneficiaries  of  the  ** system"  that 
have  controlled  the  legislatures  of  the  past  are  to  be  calmly 
allowed  to  reap  the  benefits  of  such  control?  Joseph  Donners- 
berger  of  the  South  Park  Board  says  he  would  not  for  a  mo- 
ment think  of  entering  into  this  bargain  if  the  South  Park  Board 
possessed  the  powers  of  condemnation  that  ought  to  have  been 
conferred  upon  it  by  the  Legislature.  He  merely  argues  that 
this  is  the  best  bargain  that  the  public,  with  its  hands  tied,  by 
lack  of  proper  legislative  powers,  can  make  with  the  Illinois 
Central.  Are  we  to  admit  that  the  influence  of  the  lobby  main- 
tained at  Springfield  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  is  too 
strong  to  be  overcome  by  citizens  asking  only  what  is  their  due  1 
Are  we  to  allow  corporate  interests  generally  to  understand 
that  they  can  get  privileges  to  which  they  are  not  entitled,  if 
they  can  make  use  of  their  powers  with  the  legislatures  to  block 
needed  public  improvements? 

The  eminent  citizens  who  have  taken  charge  of  this  move- 
ment for  lake  front  park  improvement  have  never  asked  the 
people  for  their  help.  These  gentlemen  admit  that  they  were 
satisfied  that  the  South  Park  Board  could  not  obtain  from  the 
legislatures  the  power  to  condemn.  They,  therefore,  made  no 
fight  to  secure  this  power. 

Had  these  gentlemen  asked  for  the  legislation  they  really 
needed,  and  called  the  people  to  their  assistance  in  getting  it, 
they  would  not  now  find  themselves  urging  the  ratification  of 
such  an  agreement  as  that  in  question.  It  is  only  within  the 
last  few  days  that  the  people  have  begun  to  understand  that 
powers  of  condemnation  for  the  South  Park  Board  are  neces- 
sar}-  to  save  the  community  from  exploitation  by  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company. 

The  supporters  of  the  agi'eement  are  right  in  saying  that 


113 

money  values  are  the  least  important  of  the  considerations  in- 
volved in  this  transaction.  If  nothing  were  at  stake  but  the 
money  values  of  the  land  surrendered  by  the  agreement,  whether 
those  values  be  larger  or  smaller  than  estimated,  the  opponents 
of  this  ordinance  might  hold  their  peace.  But  we  insist  that 
the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way  on  the  lake  front  ought  not 
to  be  enlarged  to  660  feet  in  width,  with  the  grant  of  perpetual 
franchise  rights  of  a  sweeping  nature,  especially  in  the  absence 
of  any  agreement  for  electrification.  Instead,  the  public  should 
pay  in  money  for  such  small  tracts  of  land  and  riparian  rights 
owned  by  the  Illinois  Central  as  may  be  needed  for  outer  park 
development,  leaving  the  railroad  right  of  way  at  its  present 
width  of  200  feet. 

We  believe  that  the  best  way  of  dealing  with  the  lake  front 
park  question  is  to  explain  it  to  the  people;  show  that  the 
South  Park  Board  must  have  power  to  condemn  land,  and  then 
go  to  the  Legislature.  No  legislature  would  withstand  the 
pressure  which  the  people  could  bring  to  bear. 

I  understand  that  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  get  enabling 
legislation.  If  the  men  representing  this  movement  would  ask 
for  the  legislation,  the  Legislature  would  grant  it.  Am  I  right 
in  that,  Mr.  Wacker? 

Mr.  Wacker:     No. 

Mr.  Butler:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  said  the  other  day  that  it 
was  with  great  difficulty  that  we  got  the  bill  at  all.  Those  who 
know  anything  about  it  know  that  we  barely  got  it.  It  was  after 
a  long  fight,  a  long  fight.  I  made  twenty-six  trips  to  Springfield 
myself.  It  was  the  year  when  we  lost  the  other  things.  We 
lost  the  charter  bill.  Why  didn't  we  get  that?  The  citizens 
wanted  it.  I  tell  you,  that  we  got  it  without  the  condemnation 
clause,  and  we  thought  we  did  well.  It  may  be  possible  to  get 
it  some  time  with  the  condemnation  clause,  but  not  this  year 
or  next,  and  perhaps  not  for  sixteen  years.  Well,  I  made  that 
my  fight,  Mr.  Chairman. 

Mr.  Morton  D.  Hull:  May  I  ask  you  a  question,  Mr.  But- 
ler?   Why  couldn't  we  get  the  condemnation  clause? 

Mr.  JBuTLER:  Well,  you  tell  them,  Mr.  Hull.  You  know. 
You  were  there. 

Mr.  Hull  :  Well,  I  want  to  know  why  we  couldn  't  get  the 
condemnation  clause? 

Mr.  Butler:  Well,  you  were  there.  Will  you  please  tell 
them?  I  will  tell  you  why.  You  want  me  to  say  that  it  was  be- 
cause of  the  Illinois  Central  lobby. 

Mr.  Hull:    Well,  isn't  that  the  case? 

Mr.  Butler  :  Well,  I  will  say  this,  that  the  Illinois  Central 
has  a  very  powerful  influence  in  Springfield,  but  I  do  want  to  say 
this,  that  every  friend  of  the  Illinois  Central  in  Springfield  is 


114 

not  a  crook.  1  can  conceive  of  a  man  being  a  friend  of  the 
Illinois  Central  who  is  not  a  crook,  and  I  wanted  to  say  the 
other  day  to  a  gentleman  here  who  was  speaking  that  I  thought 
he  was  wrong  in  taking  the  attitude  he  did.  Somebody  suggest- 
ed that  he  might  have  been  a  legislator  at  that  time,  and  he  took 
offense  at  it.  I  wanted  to  say  to  him  that  there  was  no  rea- 
son for  taking  offense.  There  are  good  men  in  Springfield.  You 
were  in  Springfield,  Mr.  Hull. 

Mr.  Hull  :    Thank  you. 

Mr.  Butler:  Yes,  sir,  and  you  agree  with  me,  and  to  say 
that  those  things  could  be  done  is  absurd,  and  to  say  that  it 
can  be  done  in  six  years  is  absurd.    Now,  may  I  proceed? 

Mr.  Hull:     Yes. 

Mr.  Butler:    Mr.  Chairman — 

The  Chairman:    Proceed,  Mr.  Butler. 

Mr.  Butler  :  Mr.  Hutchinson  has  been  ill  for  two  or  three 
days,  although  he  has  been  at  work.  He  has  felt  this  was  so 
important  that  he  couldn't  afford  to  stay  at  home  and  take  the 
advice  of  his  doctor,  but  he  is  too  hoarse  to  read  this  report, 
which  he  has  asked  me  to  read,  and  with  your  permission  I  will 
read  it. 

The  Chairman  :    All  right,  Mr.  Butler. 

Mr.  Butler: 

Chicago,  III.,  January  26,  1912. 

To  the  Committee  on  Wharves  and  Bridges,  Chicago. 

Dear  Sirs:  The  South  Park  Commissioners  are  John  Barton  Payne, 
Joseph  Donnersberger,  Henry  G.  Foreman,  Edward  Tilden  and  C.  L.  Hutch- 
inson. In  the  discussion  of  the  question  before  your  committee,  the  wis- 
dom of  the  commissioners  in  making  the  contract  with  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company  has  been  called  in  question.  After  months  of  careful  con- 
sideration and  negotiation,  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  assisted  by  Mr. 
E.  B.  Butler,  have  made  a  contract  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany, by  which  the  lake  front  is  to  be  reclaimed  for  park  purposes  for  the 
people  of  Chicago  from  Park  Row  to  Fifty-first  Street,  and  the  Field  Mu- 
seum will  be  brought  down  on  to  the  lake  front  within  the  reach  of  all  the 
people. 

This  contract  has  been  made.  The  South  Park  Commissioners  ask  your 
co-operation  to  enable  them  to  carry  out  the  plans  of  creating  the  park. 
In  making  this  contract  and  before  bringing  it  to  you,  we  have  consulted 
and  obtained  the  approval  of  Carter  H.  Harrison,  Mayor  of  Chicago;  Mr. 
E.  B.  Butler,  Chairman  of  the  Plan  Committee  of  the  Commercial  Club,  and 
of  Mr.  C.  H.  Wacker,  who  has  devoted  much  time  to  advance  the  interests 
of  this  plan.  We  have  the  approval  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Association  of  Commerce,  and  of  more  than  fifty  large  taxpayers  and  pub- 
lic-spirited citizens  of  Chicago,  including  such  men  as  A.  C.  Bartlett,  Charles 
a;  Stevens,  Wallace  Heckman,  John  J.  Mitchell,  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  H.  A. 
Wheeler,  Joseph  Defrees,  Henry  B.  Favill,  A.  A.  Sprague,  Ernest  A.  Hamill, 
Clarence  Buckingham,  J.  J.  Glessner,  H.  H.  Carr  and  C.  J.  Blair.  Before 
this  contract  was  signed  we  held  a  conference  with  the  leading  editors  of 
all  the  large  morning  and  evening  newspapers  in  Chicago,  and  there  was 
not  a  dissenting  voice.  We  present  to  you  one  of  the  greatest  opportunities 
for  the  advancement  of  the  City  of  Chicago  ever  presented  to  your  honora- 
ble body. 

Messrs.  A.  B.  Pond,  Joseph  Cummins,  Geo.  C.  Sikes,  Robert  Catherwood, 


115 

Thomas  Swan,  F.  B.  Johnstone,  Jens  Jensen,  Samuel  Dauchy,  Lessing  Rosen- 
thal, Morton  B.  Hull  and  C.  E.  Merriam  come  here  to  protest,  after  a  super- 
ficial consideration  of  the  subject,  as  to  the  terms  of  the  contract.  I  do  not 
doubt  the  motives  of  these  gentlemen;  but  I  doubt  if  they  have  more  wis- 
dom, and  are  more  disinterested  and  public-spirited  than  the  gentlemen 
whose  names  I  have  quoted.  They  declare  they  are  in  favor  of  the  con- 
templated improvement,  but  object  to  terms  upon  which  it  can  be  made  at 
the  present  time.  The  contract  made  by  the  commissioners  and  the  rail- 
road company  must  go  to  court  for  ratification.  There  they  will  have  ample 
opportunity  to  present  their  objections.  The  contract  is  made,  and  we  seek 
your  co-operation  to  enable  us  to  make  the  great  improvements  contemplated 
under  it.  I  believe  that  you  will  be  convinced  that  this  contract  has  not 
been  made  hastily.  I  believe  that  your  committee  and  the  Common  Council 
of  the  City  of  Chicago  will  appreciate  the  importance  of  accepting  it. 

Yours  very  truly, 

(Signed)   C.  L.  Hutchinson, 

Chairman. 

Aid.  KuNz:  Do  you  remember  Governor  Deneen  intro- 
ducing a  measure,  or  sending  a  measure  to  the  Legislature, 
against  the  Illinois  Central  in  regard  to  payment  for  their 
taxes,  that  was  brought  against  the  Illinois  Central  ? 

Mr.  Butler:  I  didn't  know  that.  I  ought  to  have  known 
it,  perhaps,  but  I  didn't  know  it. 

Mr.  Hull:  I  haven't  the  statement  here  now,  but  I  expect- 
ed to  have  by  this  time;  it  has  been  prepared,  it  is  being  type- 
written, and  I  expect  to  have  it  in  a  moment,  and  I  will  ask 
your  indulgence. 

The  Chairman  :  All  right.  We  will  hear  from  Mr.  A.  C. 
Bartlett. 

Mr.  Bartlett:     Mr.  Chairman — 

The  Chairman:    Whom  do  you  represent,  Mr.  Bartlett? 

Mr.  Bartlett:  I  represent  a  citizen.  I  am  simply  here, 
Mr.  Chairman,  as  a  citizen  and  as  a  taxpayer.  I  am  not  inter- 
ested personally  in  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  I  am  interest- 
ed in  the  improvement  and  the  welfare  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 
That  is  all.  I  might  say  all  my  interest,  because  it  goes  a  little 
further,  because  I  have  been  in  my  feeble  way  assisting  as  I 
may  towards  promoting  the  plans  known  as  the  Plan  Beauti- 
ful of  Chicago,  and  I  look  upon  this  matter  as  interfering  with 
the  immediate  fulfillment  of  putting  into  practice  of  that  plan, 
I  look  upon  it  with  a  great  deal  of  apprehension  and  with  sor- 
row. 

Now,  I  have  known  ever  since  this  negotiation  with  the  Illi- 
nois Central  was  started — I  have  known  of  the  main  features, 
the  main  steps  in  the  proceedings,  and  I  have  known  in  a  way, 
not  in  detail,  but  I  have  known  something  about  the  price  of 
property  as  fixed  by  men  who  are  experts  upon  properties  that 
were  to  be  exchanged  by  the  Illinois  Central  for  the  property 
which  they  acquire  from  the  City  of  Chicago.  It  does  not  seem 
to  me — while  I  say  I  am  not  an  expert — that  the  values  fixed 


116 

were  perhaps  fair,  but,  as  Mr.  Sikes  says,  that  is  not  a  ques- 
tion of  any  very  great  importance  as  compared  with  the  ques- 
tion that  is  before  you,  and  that  is  before  this  entire  commu- 
nity, with  regard  to  what  can  be  done  for  certain  reliefs  that 
are  necessary  in  Chicago  and  for  the  beautification  of  this  city. 

I  think  perhaps  that  all  of  us  are  a  little  bit  in  the  habit 
of  criticising  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  more  than  we  should. 
It  has  become  a  habit.  The  railroad  acquired  its  right  of  way, 
as  I  understand,  by  grant  from  the  State  and  by  purchases  it 
has  made.  Now,  I  assume  that  the  buying  of  this  property 
was  done  legitimately,  just  as  honestly  as  has  been  the  acquire- 
ment of  any  property  by  any  of  us  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  and 
that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  therefore  is  honestly  entitled 
to  any  increase  in  values,  just  as  much  as  you  and  I  would  be 
entitled  to  the  increase  of  property  we  might  have  purchased 
on  Michigan  Avenue  at  $500  per  foot  which  is  now  worth  $10,- 
000. 

But,  as  Mr.  Sikes  says,  it  is  not  a  matter  of  very  great  im- 
portance. It  is  important,  very  important  to  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago, but,  as  we  know,  we  have  been  trying  to  acquire  it  for 
a  long  time.  We  have  met  with  a  very  great  deal  of  opposi- 
sition,  not  by  the  citizens  in  general,  but  there  have  been  men 
who  have  opposed  it  because  they  thought  that  the  value  of 
their  property  was  being  diminished  in  some  way.  They  have 
opposed  it. 

Now,  these  gentlemen  who  have  signed  this  petition  are  not 
moved  by  any  such  ideas  or  any  such  feeling  of  a  desire  in 
any  way  to  block  this  plan.  I  understand  that  perfectly.  They 
are  just  as  public-spirited  as  we  are,  and  perhaps  more  so,  but 
I  know  about  these  difficulties  that  we  have  had  in  the  past. 
Now,  we  have  reached  the  time  where  this  change  in  Chicago, 
this  progress  which  we  have  all  been  looking  for  for  a  long 
time,  can  be  made,  and  it  would  be  a  very  grave  mistake  if  be- 
cause of  some  little  differences  between  us  and  the  Illinois 
Central  that  we  should  at  this  time  lose  the  benefits  that  we 
can  never  acquire  again. 

I  look  upon  the  coming  of  the  Field  Columbian  Museum 
down  to  the  lake  front  as  one  of  the  most  important  things 
that  could  be  done  for  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  not  only  for 
beautifying  the  lake  front,  but  giving  to  the  people  of  our 
city,  to  the  people  all  over  the  city,  access  to  that  wonderful 
collection,  and  which  will  become  more  wonderful,  and  then  the 
improvements  which  will  extend  along  Twelfth  Street  are  of 
incalculable  value  to  Chicago.  We  can  hardly  calculate  the 
benefits  that  will  be  derived  by  the  City  of  Chicago  by  these 
changes. 

Now,  the  question  is,  whether  we  can  afford  to  put  off  in- 


117 

definitely  these  improvements  for  the  sake  of  making  a  better 
bargain,  a  shrewder  bargain,  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad. 
We  want  to  get  just  as  good  a  bargain,  just  as  shrewd  a  bar- 
gain, as  we  can,  but  if  there  are  no  other  serious  objections, 
it  seems  to  me  that  this  contract  should  be  closed,  and  if  it  is 
ratified  by  the  courts,  that  the  work  should  go  forward  imme- 
diately. 

As  a  citizen  and  taxpayer,  I  am  perfectly  willing  that  the 
South  Park  Commission  should  pay  any  one  more  than  I  think 
that  property  is  worth,  if  this  project  can  be  carried  forward 
with  the  least  possible  delay.    I  thank  you. 

The  Chairman  :  We  thank  you,  Mr.  Bartlett.  We  will  now 
listen  to  Mr.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  if  he  is  present. 

Mr.  McCormick  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  not  here  to  speak 
for  or  against  any  corporation  of  railways,  neither  am  I  here 
to  speak  for  the  Field  Museum,  but  I  simply  come  as  a  private 
citizen  and,  as  Mr.  Bartlett  has  stated,  as  a  taxpayer  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  Chicago. 

As  I  travel  about  the  length  and  breadth  of  this  country 
and  other  countries,  I  find  that  the  name  of  Chicago  stands 
high  in  the  list  of  cities  by  their  ability,  by  their  progress.  It 
is  an  ideal  city,  but  I  don't  find  it  standing  as  high  in  the  de- 
velopment of  its  artistic  side  as  it  ought  to  stand.  We  have 
made  great  progress  in  our  Art  Institute  and  in  our  university 
and  in  our  orchestra,  but  to  my  mind  the  city  has  reached  a 
critical  point  where  a  great  opportunity  is  offered  to  us.  It 
may  be  that  in  details  it  is  not  to  our  satisfaction  as  far  as 
the  trade  is  concerned.  I  have  not  gone  into  the  details  of 
this  contract,  but  I  earnestly  believe  that  taken  as  a  whole  it 
is  a  wise  and  profitable  thing  for  this  city  to  go  forward  and 
make  this  contract.  There  are  some  times  when  a  person  has 
to  take  a  broad  view  when  they  want  to  obtain  a  certain  point. 
A  business  man  has  at  times  got  to  pay  more  for  property,  if 
he  wishes  to  secure  it. 

I  think  that  the  City  of  Chicago  will  in  twenty-five  or  fifty 
years  consider  that  this  bargain  is  cheap  and  that  it  is  cheap 
for  the  City  of  Chicago  to  accomplish  this  magnificent  Chicago 
Plan,  which  all  of  us  are  doing  the  very  best  we  can  to  get 
started,  and  I  believe  that  the  accomplishment  of  this  particu- 
lar part  of  the  plan  will  help  the  rest  of  it,  and  that  the  City 
of  Chicago  will  be  benefited,  and  I  simply  ask  the  privilege  of 
being  recorded  as  decidedly  in  favor  of  this  action,  and  I  hope 
that  it  will  prevail.  I  thank  you  very  much  for  this  oppor- 
tunity. 

The  Chaibman  :    We  will  now  listen  to  Mr.  Wacker. 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Wacker:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen, 
you  have  heard  what  I  have  to  say  upon  this  subject,  and  I  am 


118 

not  going  to  delay  the  proceedings  by  going  over  the  same 
grounds.  You  know  that  I  believe  the  proposition  should  be 
dealt  with  on  the  broadest  kind  of  basis.  You  know  that  I  be- 
lieve that  the  contract  is  one  that  will  inure  to  the  greatest  ben- 
efit possible,  inure  to  the  benefit  of  the  citizens  of  Chicago  in 
general.  I  am  surprised  somewhat  to  find  after  listening  to 
Mr.  Sikes  that  the  question  of  values  has  been  dropped. 

Mr.  Sikes  :  No,  it  has  not  been  dropped.  You  will  hear 
about  it  in  a  minute. 

Mr.  Wacker:  If  I  remember  correctly,  you  adjourned  to 
meet  today  in  order  to  give  the  gentleman  time  to  refute  the 
figures  which  Mr.  Hutchinson  presented  at  the  last  meeting, 
and  now  we  haven't  received  those  figures,  and  I  supposed  the 
adjournment  was  to  take  place  for  that  particular  purpose,  and 
I  came  here  for  that  purpose. 

Aid.  Long:  Mr.  Wacker,  those  figures  will  be  presented 
by  the  next  speaker. 

Mr.  Wacker:  Well,  I  want  to  beg  Mr.  Sikes'  pardon.  I 
misunderstood. 

Aid.  Long:  Mr.  Wacker,  permit  me  to  explain  for  your 
benefit.  Mr.  Sikes  stated  that  they  would  divide  what  they 
had  to  say,  he  presenting  the  part  not  having  to  do  with  the 
figures,  and  Mr.  Hull  to  present  the  figures  later.  If  you  would 
rather  defer  your  argument  until  the  figures  are  presented, 
you  can  do  so. 

Mr.  Wacker:  Well,  I  will.  However,  the  figures  didn't 
seem  so  important  to  me  at  the  last  meeting,  but  I  will  wait. 

The  Chairman  :  If  there  are  no  objections,  we  will  listen 
to  Mr.  Rosenthal,  and  then,  Mr.  Wacker,  we  will  listen  to  your 
talk. 

Mr.  Hull:  I  don't  know  why  the  statement  isn't  here. 
It  evidently  has  been  delayed. 

The  Chairman  :  Well,  I  gniess  Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  is  next. 
We  will  listen  to  him  now. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen:  Mr,  Chairman,  the  last  time  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  speaking  to  you,  I  told  you  I  spoke  purely  in 
my  capacity  as  a  private  citizen,  and  that  the  association  of 
which  I  was  president  had  not  taken  any  action,  but  since  then 
they  had  a  meeting,  and  they  passed  resolutions  wliich  the  sec- 
retarv'  will  present  to  you. 

The  Chairman:    What  association  is  that? 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen:    The  Greater  Chicago  Federation. 

Aid.  Long:  What  part  of  the  city  does  your  association 
represent? 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :  All  parts  of  the  City  of  Chicago.  I 
wish  to  take  up,  if  you  please,  some  of  the  statements  made  by 
Mr.  Payne,  and  the  first  one  I  would  like  to  touch  upon  is  with 


119 

reference  to  the  question  of  whether  there  was  or  was  not  any 
secrecy  in  the  matter  of  the  negotiations  of  the  Park  Board  in 
making  this  contract.  As  Mr.  Payne  has  told  you,  or  Mr. 
Hutchinson — I  may  quote  them  wrong  by  name — they  say  that 
there  has  been  nothing  to  conceal. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  think  that  it  is  an  accepted  policy 
that  in  all  matters  of  public  concern  the  public  be  given  a  chance 
to  be  heard,  and  I  am  sure  that  I  for  one  had  no  opportunity 
to  appear  before  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  and  I  doubt 
if  there  are  many  gentlemen  in  this  room  that  did  have  that 
opportunity.  When  the  contract  was  ratified  and  signed,  the 
newspapers  came  out  with  full  page  reports,  and  the  thing  was 
done.  Now,  whether  there  was  any  secrecy  or  not,  I  would  like 
to  read  from  the  Evening  Post. 

Compliment  Given  to  the  Evening  Post. 

Charles  L.  Hutchinson  says  this  newspaper  deserves  the  greatest  credit. 
Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  member  of  the  South  Park  Commission,  says  that 
when  the  Evening  Post  learned  of  the  tentative  plans,  *  *  *  in  the  pub- 
lic interest  it  refrained  from  premature  publication.  "The  printing  of  the 
story  at  the  time  probably  would  have  prevented  the  completion  of  the  deal, 
and  therefore  I  think  great  recognition  is  due  to  this  paper  for  its  service." 

Mr.  Chairman,  now  they  also  let  us  into  another  secret  at 
the  last  meeting.  I  have  been  present  at  all  your  meetings. 
The  secret  they  informed  us  of  was  that  they  had  a  meeting 
at  which  the  representatives  of  the  newspapers  were  present, 
and  this  matter  was  laid  before  them.  I  am  not  opposed  to 
newspaper  influence  in  public  life,  but  I  think  that  when  the 
Park  Commissioners  recognize  that  it  is  their  duty  to  let  the 
newspapers  know,  they  must  also  recognize  that  it  is  their  duty 
to  let  the  public  know. 

In  regard  to  the  figures.  The  figures  are  not  the  basic  ob- 
jection to  this  thing.  The  basic  objection  is  the  smoke,  soot  and 
noise,  but  most  of  the  time  has  been  taken  up  in  discussing  the 
figures.  Now,  I  personally  have  no  objection  to  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  being  paid  in  dollars  and  cents  all  they  are  en- 
titled to  for  the  rights  they  are  to  surrender,  but  I  have  serious 
objection  to  their  being  permitted  to  double  or  treble  their 
present  smoke  nuisance. 

In  presenting  the  figures  for  the  Park  Commissioners,  they 
included  among  that  which  the  Illinois  Central  gave  the  city 
the  value  of  1,000  or  1,500  acres  of  submerged  land  which  might 
be  put  into  the  park.  Gentlemen,  that  is  not  being  given  to 
them  by  the  Illinois  Central,  that  is  being  given  by  the  State 
of  Illinois,  that  now  owns  it.  The  Illinois  Central  is  giving  its 
riparian  rights  to  those  submerged  lands,  if  they  have  any.  If 
we  are  going  to  figure  it  out  along  those  lines,  that  the  city  had 
1,000  acres  or  1,500  acres,  why  not  run  it  right  out  into  the  lake. 


120 

and  you  will  find  that  the  figures  will  not  go  into  the  thousands, 
but  millions. 

Another  point,  that  the  people  will  get  a  foot  of  this  sub- 
merged land.  They  cannot  get  a  foot  of  it  until  the  government 
gives  permission  to  fill  in  the  submerged  portion  of  the  lake. 
It  is  just  possible  that  the  government  would  permit  the  filling 
in  of  200  feet,  and  they  might  permit  the  filling  in  of  300  feet. 
But  we  have  no  certainty  that  they  will  give  the  people  whai 
the  railroad  wants. 

Another  point,  it  was  said  that  it  should  be  taken  into  ao- 
count  that  it  cost  the  railroad  a  thousand  dollars  a  square  foot 
to  fill  this  land,  and  that  must  be  deducted  from  what  the  rail- 
road was  getting.  At  the  previous  meeting  Mr.  Wacker  told 
us  how  this  land  could  be  reclaimed  without  a  dollar's  cost  to 
the  people  by  simply  using  the  fill  from  the  city,  the  ashes,  and 
so  fortli.  Now,  the  statement  was  conflicting.  They  say  it  cost 
the  Illinois  Central  a  dollar  a  square  foot.  Now,  they  figure 
that  there  are  1,500  acres,  and  taking  those  figures  at  a  dollar 
a  square  foot,  it  will  cost  you  at  least  $5,340,000.  And  so  much 
for  the  figures  on  the  subject. 

It  is  urged  that  this  matter  should  not  be  delayed,  that  the 
interests  of  the  city  are  such  that  we  should  go  forward  prompt- 
ly. Mr.  Chairman,  there  is  now  a  suit  pending,  brought  by  the 
city  and  the  Attorney  General,  with  respect  to  the  city's  rights 
to  this  made  land  of  the  Illinois  Central,  and  the  passing  of 
this  ordinance  is  not  going  to  remove  you  from  the  danger  of 
litigation.  Any  one  of  the  500,000  or  more  citizens  of  the  South 
Park  District  have  the  right  to  appear  in  court  and  enter  their 
objections,  and  I  am  sure  that  among  those  people  there  will 
be  found  several  Montgomery  Wards  to  defeat  the  Field  Mu- 
seum proposition,  and  on  that  subject  I  will  say  something  later. 

Another  point.  Mr.  Hutchinson  spoke  to  us  about  what  a 
beautiful  thing  it  would  be  if  this  arrangement  was  put  in  along 
the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central,  for  this  proposed  im- 
provement from  Twelfth  Street  north  100-foot  right  of  way. 
Gentlemen,  that  is  a  good  argiunent.  If  it  is  a  good  thing  to 
cut  a  right  of  way  down  to  100  feet  from  Twelfth  Street  north, 
is  it  a  good  thing  to  make  it  660  feet  from  Twelfth  Street 
south? 

Mr.  Payne  spoke  of  the  proposed  improvement  to  Grant 
Park,  which  was  involved  in  this  matter.  They  were  going  to 
erect  there  a  magnificent  stadiiun,  I  believe  he  called  it.  I  am 
not  quite  sure.  I  presume  it  will  be  some  place  for  sports. 
That  it  would  extend  across  the  Illinois  Central  yards,  and  they 
could  have  an  entrance  there. 

But  why  all  these  efforts  to  screen  this  matter  from  the 
people?    If  there  is  to  be  a  stadium  built,  Mr.  Chairman,  why 


121 

wouldn't  it  be  better  to  put  that  in  the  center  of  population,  in- 
stead of  on  the  edge  of  the  downtown  district? 

The  Field  Museum  was  compared  with  the  Art  Institute, 
and  it  was  pointed  out  how  many  more  people  went  to  the  Art 
Institute,  and  the  central  location  was  given  as  the  reason.  Gen- 
tlemen, there  is  a  lot  of  difference  between  going  to  the  Art 
Institute  and  going  to  the  Field  Museum.  The  number  of  peo- 
ple interested  in  the  Field  Museum  is  very  much  smaller  than 
those  interested  in  the  Art  Institute,  and  here  again  it  is  not  a 
controlling  factor.  You  might  as  well  compare  it  with  the  at- 
tendance at  the  ball  games.  You  find  people  going  several  miles 
if  they  are  interested. 

In  all  this  conversation  nobody  has  enlightened  us  as  to 
what  it  is  going  to  cost  to  make  this  wonderful  improvement 
that  is  pictured  to  us,  or  where  the  money  is  going  to  come  from 
to  make  it.  I  have  in  my  feeble  way  tried  to  make  some  sort 
of  an  estimate,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  it  will  run  over  twenty 
millions  of  dollars,  and  this  South  Park  Board  are  so  short  of 
funds  that  they  haven't  been  able  to  improve  the  smaU  parks 
that  they  bought  five  or  six  years  ago. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  think  what  the  people  of  the  City  of 
Chicago  want  is  not  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  right  of  way, 
but  they  want  the  shore  restored,  and  whatever  it  costs  in 
money  I  think  you  will  find  the  people  prepared  to  pay. 

Another  subject  I  wish  to  touch  on  just  briefly.  You  make 
a  restriction  in  your  ordinance  as  to  what  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  may  or  may  not  do  with  the  land  it  gets.  In  touching 
on  this  matter  I  will  admit  that  I  am  not  a  lawyer,  I  am  merely 
a  layman.  It  is  a  question  of  law,  but  I  have  had  contracts  quite 
a  little  in  my  life,  and  I  insist  that  this  contract  between  the 
railroad  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners  restricts  the  use 
that  the  South  Park  Commissioners  may  make  of  the  part  they 
get  of  the  railroad  right  of  way.  It  doesn't  grant  them  a  right 
to  use  it  for  any  public  purposes  that  later  years  may  make 
necessary.  It  is  limited  to  a  pier,  breakwater  or  boulevard. 
And  those  three  are  the  same  things,  and  you  will  find  evi- 
dences of  making  that  restriction  in  the  exceptions  I  have  made 
in  the  principal  contract  itself  in  relation  to  the  Field  Museum 
and  the  outer  harbor.  I  thank  you  very  much  for  your  atten- 
tion. 

The  Chairman:    Mr.  Hull,  are  you  prepared  now? 

Mr.  Hull:    Yes. 

The  Chairman  :    Mr.  Morton  D.  Hull. 

Mr.  Hull:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  commit- 
tee, on  behalf  of  the  signers  of  the  petition  previously  presented, 
I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  reply  to  certain  argu- 
ments in  support  of  the  lake  front  ordinance : 


122 

We  fully  agree  in  the  view  that  the  questions  involved  are  above  mere 
dollars. 

The  lake  front  should  be  made  the  people's  playground,  and  it  should 
not  be  forever  marred  by  the  ugliness,  smoke  and  noise  of  a  great  freight 
yard.  If  by  this  plan  we  get  the  park  free  from  this  perpetual  burden  and 
eyesore,  we  should  not  balk  at  the  money  cost.     But  we  do  not. 

Judge  Payne  said  he  would  be  delighted  to  consider  any  other  method 
of  bringing  about  the  desired  results.  His  inference  is  that  there  is  no 
other  method.  How  does  he  propose  to  proceed  if  the  Illinois  Central 
rejects  the  changes  the  city  has  made  in  the  ordinance?  Is  the  city  help- 
less? Can  the  Illinois  Central  dictate  the  terms  on  which  we  shall  use  the 
lake  front?    Judge  Payne  appears  to  think  they  can.     We  say,  no. 

We  must  get  the  power  to  condemn  the  Thirteenth  Street  pier  and 
the  riparian  rights,  and  take  the  things  we  want  at  a  fair  price,  free  from 
burdensome  and  intolerable  conditions. 

In  the  written  statement  submitted  by  the  Park  Board  on  January 
24th  there  are  such  glaring  mistakes  of  fact  that  it  must  have  been  pre- 
pared by  a  person  who  had  but  the  slightest  acquaintance  with  the  subject. 

1.  Acreage.  The  acreage  which  the  company  will  get  is  not  98  acres 
or  108  acres,  as  stated,  but  162.5  acres,  of  which  120  acres  are  submerged 
land  and  42  acres  made  land.  These  are  the  official  figures  of  the  City  of 
Chicago,  computed  from  a  large  detailed  map  by  experts  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Corporation  Counsel. 

2.  The  gentlemen  seek  to  ignore  the  42  acres  of  made  land  covered  by 
the  suit  of  the  State  and  city,  by  stating  that  it  "is  not  affected  by  our 
contract." 

The  contract  (page  2)  states  that  the  company  "owns"  certain  lands 
adjoining  Grant  Park,  and  "claims  to  own  the  greater  part  of  the  lands  and 
the  riparian  rights  and  other  rights  pertaining  to  such  lands  on  the  shores" 
between  Park  Row  and  Fifty-first  Street.  On  page  3  it  is  stated  that  one  of 
the  objects  of  this  contract  is  "that  there  may  be  confirmed  in  the  company 
the  right  and  title  to  the  submerged  and  other  lands  between  the  easterly 
lines  of  its  present  right  of  way  and  the  said  boundary  line  as  hereafter 
provided." 

Article  IV  provides  that  on  the  confirmation  of  this  boundary  line 
"the  part  of  said  submerged,  reclaimed,  made  and  penetrating  lands,  and 
the  waters  thereon,  situate  and  being  on  the  westerly  side  of  said  part  of 
said  boundary  line,  and  all  right,  title  and  interest  in  or  pertaining  thereto 
shall  be  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  company"  *  *  *  and  the  same  are 
hereby  vested  in,  transferred,  assigned  and  conveyed  to  said  company.  The 
said  company  shall  have  and  hold  the  fee  simple  title  to  any  and  all  such 
lands,  *  *  *  free  from  any  adverse  claim  in  any  way  arising  out  of  any 
question  as  to  where  the  shore  line  was  at  any  time  in  the  past  or  as  to  the 
title  to  any  existing  accretions." 

It  is  thus  clear  that  one  of  the  express  objects  of  this  contract  is  to 
give  the  Illinois  Central  title  to  these  42  acres  which  the  State  and  city 
assert  in  the  pending  suit  do  not  belong  to  the  company. 

3.  We  submit  that  our  statement  that  "for  a  distance  of  about  two  miles 
long  the  enlarged  right  of  way  will  be  660  feet  wide,"  is  not  misleading, 
as  claimed.  From  Twelfth  Street  to  Thirty-first  Street  is  two  miles.  The 
right  of  way  at  Thirteenth  Street  will  be  700  feet  wide,  thence  tapering  to 
660  feet  at  Eighteenth  Street.  This  width  it  holds  to  Twenty-ninth  Street, 
then  tapers  to  400  feet  at  Thirty-first  Street.  It  will  be  a  freight  yard  ac- 
commodating forty-five  to  fifty  tracks. 

4.  The  fact  that  the  public  may  be  forced  to  pay  $100  per  foot  for  the 
riparian  rights  of  the  Walker  Estate,  which  the  owners  formerly  contended 
were  not  worth  $20  per  foot,  merely  serves  to  illustrate  that  without  the 
power  of  condemnation  the  public  must  pay  whatever  price  owners  may 
choose  to  ask.  It  should,  however,  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  price  asked 
by  the  Walker  Estate  is  not  for  mere  naked  riparian  rights,  but  includes  a 
considerable  amount  of  land  now  occupied  by  the  city  for  a  bathing  beach. 
The  naked  riparian  rights  of  the  Illinois  Central  are  obviously  of  less  value 
per  foot. 


123 

To  say  that  the  company  has  riparian  rights  on  over  21,000  lineal  feet 
is  to  ignore  the  rights  of  the  public  in  the  42  acres  in  suit,  which  stretch 
along  the  shore  east  of  the  right  of  way  for  many  thousand  feet.  We  be- 
lieve the  contention  is  correct  that  the  company  by  wrongfully  filling  in 
on  the  east  of  its  shore  lands  has  lost  all  right  as  riparian  owner  to  object 
to  further  filling  in  by  the  park  outside  of  these  lands.  The  riparian  right 
is  simply  the  right  to  natural  accretions  and  the  right  of  access  to  the 
water.  These  rights  they  have  cut  off  by  their  own  act.  We  suggest  that 
the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel  be  secured  on  these  points. 

As  to  the  value  in  condemnation  proceedings  of  such  riparian  rights 
as  the  railroad  may  in  fact  possess,  we  have  Mr.  Donnersberger's  estimate 
made  officially  in  a  judicial  proceeding,  of  $20  per  foot.  The  unwillingness 
of  the  Illinois  Central  to  subject  their  rights  to  condemnation  proceedings 
in  which  the  court  and  jury  would  award  them  the  full  and  fair  legal  value, 
shows  how  little  confidence  they  have  in  the  value  of  such  rights.  They 
have,  it  is  true,  a  large  nuisance  value,  for  blocking  public  improvement. 
But  this  value  could  not  be  considered  in  condemnation.  They  could  re- 
cover only  for  the  loss  of  right  to  natural  accretions,  and  the  right  of  ac- 
cess to  the  lake. 

They  have  no  right  to  build  piers  or  to  fill  in  a  foot  of  submerged 
land,  and  the  damage  they  would  sustain  by  being  cut  off  from  access  to 
the  lake,  which  they  cannot  use  in  any  way,  would  be  nominal.  As  we 
have  previously  pointed  out,  there  are  no  natural  accretions  on  this  shore. 
The  records  of  the  various  I.  C.  suits  involving  shore  lands  are  full  of 
evidence  introduced  by  the  company  to  show  that  the  entire  shore  is  sub- 
ject to  destructive  erosion.  It  is  obvious  that  the  right  to  accretions,  when 
there  are  no  accretions,  can  have  little  value.  If  there  is  any  doubt  on  these 
propositions,  the  committee  should  ask  the  opinion  of  the  Corporation 
Counsel. 

There  is  excellent  reason  for  believing  that  the  rights  could  be  con- 
demned for  less  than  $430,000.  There  is  not  the  slightest  reason  for  be- 
lieving that  the  Illinois  Central  could  recover  $2,100,000  for  them  in  con- 
demnation. 

5.  We  stated  that  "as  far  as  we  can  learn  no  official  estimate  has  ever 
been  made  of  the  value  of  the  lands  which  the  public  gives  to  the  com- 
pany." We  said  this  because  two  of  the  Park  Commissioners  informed  us 
that  this  was  the  fact.  Judge  Payne  did  not  state  when  Mr.  Foster's  esti- 
mate was  prepared. 

As  to  the  value  of  the  lands  which  the  railroad  would  get,  we  do  not 
ask  the  Council  to  accept  our  figures,  though  we  believe  them  to  be  con- 
servative. 

The  Council  should  determine  the  value  of  these  lands  for  railroad 
purposes.  What  do  the  roads,  such  as  the  Michigan  Central  and  others 
which  use  the  terminal  facilities  of  the  Illinois  Central,  pay  for  the  prop- 
erty which  they  use?  These  rentals  should  fix  the  value  of  the  property. 
They  will  show  facts  regarding  value  and  not  mere  opinions.  The  Coun- 
cil should  determine  these  leases  and  get  the  facts.  We  can  point  to  the  door 
behind  which  lies  the  information,  but  we  cannot  open  it.  The  Council  can 
open  it,  and  will  fall  short  of  its  plain  duty  if  it  fails  to  do  so.  The  books  of 
a  public  service  corporation  cease  to  be  private  property  when  the  public  is 
concerned. 

The  South  Park  Board  make  the  unsupported  statement  that  the  land 
is  worth  only  $1  per  square  foot.  Even  at  this  value,  when  figured  on  the 
true  acreage  of  162  acres,  it  is  worth  $7,000,000,  and  not  merely  $4,700,000 
which  the  Park  Board  figures  on  108  acres. 

Judge  Payne  says  Mr.  Poster,  Superintendent  of  the  South  Park  Board, 
estimates  that  "the  Illinois  Central,  after  deducting  the  cost  of  filling,  gets 
lands  ultimately  worth  $9,528,700."  He  does  not  state  whether  Mr.  Foster 
has  any  knowledge  of  railroad  values  or  whether  this  estimate,  like  other 
South  Park  figures,  is  based  on  108  acres  only.  If  it  is,  it  shows  a  value 
of  $88,227  per  acre,  or  $14,292,774  for  162  acres. 

The  statement  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  objects  to  our  esti- 


124 

mate  of  value,  on  the  ground  that  we  have  based  the  value  for  the  entire 
length  on  the  value  per  square  foot  placed  by  Mr.  Donnersberger  on  the 
Thirteenth  Street  pier,  and  have  no  allowance  for  cost  of  filling  in.  This  is 
incorrect.  ' 

Mr.  Donnersberger  stated  to  your  committee  that  the  land  in  the  Thir- 
teenth Street  pier  was  worth  $5  per  square  foot.  Figured  at  this  price,  the 
value  of  7,000,000  square  feet  would  be  $35,000,000,  or  $14,000,000  in  excess 
of  our  figures.  It  will  be  seen  that  our  figures  allowed  for  the  cost  of  filling 
and  averaged  the  value  of  the  land  between  Thirteenth  Street  and  Fifty-first 
Street. 

We  believe  that  for  railroad  purposes  a  large  part  of  the  land  to  be 
granted  is  worth  more,  rather  than  less,  per  square  foot,  than  the  Thir- 
teenth Street  pier;  92.5  acres  of  the  total  lie  south  of  Thirtj'-first  Street 
in  a  compact  area,  parallel  to  the  main  tracks,  accessible  to  the  St.  Charles 
Air  Line,  and  convenient  for  team  tracks  and  freight  sheds  which  may  be 
built  on  it. 

The  Thirteenth  Street  pier  is  a  thumb  sticking  into  the  lake  at  right 
angles  to  the  main  right  of  way.  It  is  used  for  empty  car  trackage.  It 
cannot  compare  in  convenience,  accessibility  or  ease  of  operation,  with  the 
new  lands  to  the  south.  It  is  concededly  worth  $5  per  square  foot  for  rail- 
road purposes.  We  contend  that  the  land  to  the  south  which  will  take  its 
place  will  have  at  least  an  equal  value  for  like  purposes.  We  do  not  con- 
tend that  this  value  persists  to  Fifty-first  Street,  but  we  do  maintain  that 
$3  per  square  foot  is  a  fair  average  value  after  allowing  for  the  cost  of 
filling. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  stated  that  the  cost  of  filling  in  would  be  $1  per  square 
foot.  This  is  $43,500  per  acre.  No  authority  was  given  for  this  statement. 
It  does  not  square  with  his  other  statement  that  the  lands  to  be  made  by 
the  Park  Commissioners  in  deeper  water  can  be  filled  with  waste  material 
at  the  rate  of  75  to  100  acres  per  year,  without  cost  to  the  public.  We  are 
prepared  to  submit,  if  the  committee  wishes  it,  the  estimate  of  a  competent 
engineer  that  the  cost  of  filling  will  not  exceed  $16,000  per  acre  as  an 
outside  figure.    We  maintain  it  will  be  less,  as  it  has  been  in  Lincoln  Park. 

As  42  acres  are  already  filled,  there  are  left  only  120  acres  to  fill,  which 
at  $16,000  per  acre  amounts  to  $1,920,000.  Starting  with  the  value  of  $5  per 
square  foot  and  deducting  $1,920,000  as  the  cost  of  filling,  there  is  left  $33,- 
080,000.  The  difference  between  this  and  our  valuation  of  $21,000,000  is  $12,- 
080,000,  which  shows  the  amount  Mr.  Donnersberger's  figures  may  be  re- 
duced to  cover  any  decline  in  values  between  Thirteenth  Street  and  Fifty- 
first  Street. 

To  summarize  the  estimates: 

108  acres.  162  acres. 

South  Park  Board   $4,700,000  $  7,000,000 

Mr.   Foster    9,528,000  14,292,000 

At.  Mr.  Donnersberger's  figures  for  Thirteenth 

Street,  less  cost  of  filling 33,080,000 

Estimate  of  petitioners 21,000,000 

We  ask  only  that  the  Council  get  the  facts. 

6.  Another  error  is  found  in  the  statement  of  the — north  and  Twelfth 
Street  across  the  tracks  for  their  full  width,  and  to  cover  100  feet 
of  the  right  of  way  north  of  Twelfth  Street.  This  right  is  given  by  the 
railroad  only  "upon  the  operation  by  electricity  of  its  tracks  and  terminals 
north  of  Twelfth  Street,"  and  the  contract  makes  no  provision  whatever 
for  electrification. 

In  conclusion,  we  protest  against  setting  off  against  the  lands  the  com- 
pany gets,  the  lands  embraced  in  the  proposed  park.  The  idea  that  the  peo- 
ple are  getting  $189,000,000  worth  of  lands  in  this  deal  is  based  upon  the 
absurd  position  that  the  submerged  lands  now  belong  to  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  are  granted  to  the  people  by  that  railroad.  The  plain  fact  is  that 
tJiese  submerged  lands  now  belong  to  the  people,  and  their  value,  great  or 


125 

small,  Is  no  factor  in  this  proposed  contract.    Those  lands  are  not  given  up 
by  the  railroad.    The  public  owns  every  foot  of  them  now. 

Shall  we  pay  $17,000,000  to  the  Illinois  Central  to  be  allowed  to  improve 
and  use  our  own  lands,  and  shall  we  at  the  same  time  forever  damage  their 
value  by  fastening  on  them  a  great  freight  yard? 

This  in  detail  was  prepared  by  other  members  of  the  pro- 
testants,  and  I  was  very  glad  to  read  it  for  the  committee. 

Mr.  Lee:    Let  me  ask  a  question,  Mr.  Hull? 

The  Chairman  :    Wait  until  he  finishes. 

Mr.  Hull:  A  few  moments  ago  I  asked  Mr.  Butler,  and  I 
speak  now  for  myself  and  not  for  the  committee,  why  the  Park 
Commissioners  couldn't  get  the  riparian  rights  by  getting  their 
bill  through  authorizing  them  to  condemn  property  along  this 
water  front,  and  he  frankly  admitted  it  was  because  of  the  lobby 
of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  Now,  gentlemen,  I  have  been 
a  member  of  the  Dlinois  Legislature,  and  it  is  a  humiliation  for 
me  to  stand  under  the  name  that  Illinois  Legislature  stands 
under,  but  I  think  there  is  something  far  more  fundamental 
than  the  question  of  whether  the  park  of  the  Field  Museum  is 
located  at  Twelfth  Street  or  am^vhere  else.  If  it  takes  six  years 
or  sixteen  years,  let  us  stand  by  our  guns  and  fight  the  thing 
through  as  we  did  in  the  traction  controversy,  and  not  let  us 
give  notice  to  everybody  that  the  State  Legislature  is  owned  by 
any  corporation. 

I  firmly  believe  that  a  bill  allowing  the  condemnation  of 
those  rights  can  be  put  through  if  there  is  a  well  organized 
campaign  by  the  public  asking  the  Legislature  to  put  it  through, 
and  not  let  it  be  said  by  any  man  that  this  is  a  government  of 
the  Illinois  Central,  for  the  Illinois  Central  and  by  the  Illinois 
Central.    I  thank  you. 

Mr.  Butler:  Mr.  Hull,  you  misquoted  me.  I  didn't  say 
on  account  of  the  lobby.  I  said  they  had  friends  enough  in  the 
lobby  to  oppose  it. 

Mr.  Hull:    Well,  that  is  about  the  same  thing. 

Mr.  Butler:  And,  incidentally,  let  me  ask  you  why  you 
voted  for  this  bill  if  you  thought  a  better  one  could  be  secured! 
Why,  then,  should  you  vote  for  it?  I  would  like  to  ask  two  or 
three  questions  at  once,  but  I  would  like  to  have  an  answer  to 
that. 

Mr.  Hull:  I  will  answer  your  question.  You  thought  it 
was  the  best  bill  that  could  have  been  put  through  at  that  time, 
and  I  voted  for  it,  but  if  I  was  in  your  position — 

Mr.  Butler:    I  insist — 

Aid.  Long:  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  must  insist  that  this 
committee  does  not  want  to  get  off  on  side  issues  at  Spring- 
field. 

Mr.  Butler:    May  I  ask  a  question?    Would  you  stand  for 


126 

those  figures  that  have  been  made?  Would  you  honestly  stand 
for  those  figures? 

Mr.  Hull:  Mr.  Butler,  I  didn't  actually  prepare  those  fig- 
ures. The  gentleman,  who  is  here,  he  can  answer  as  to  those 
particular  figures,  but  I  will  stand  for  any  figures  that  they 
made. 

Mr.  Butler  :    But  you  are  on  that  committee. 

The  Chairman:    May  I  have  that  report? 

Mr.  Hull:     Yes. 

Mr.  Lee  :  May  I  ask  the  gentleman  a  question,  Mr.  Chair- 
man? 

The  Chairman  :     Yes. 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  don 't  quite  understand.  I  would  like  to  know 
if  you  stated,  or  if  it  is  a  fact,  that  this  contract  that  you  speak 
of,  Mr.  Hull,  would  confirm  the  present  holdings  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  in  addition  to  the  proposed  gift  of 
this  area? 

Mr.  Hull  :  It  will  confirm  the  piece  that  is  in  litigation,  as 
I  understand  it. 

Mr.  Lee  :  That  includes  the  present  holdings  and  the  pro- 
posed additional  land? 

Mr.  Hull:    Yes,  that  is  it,  as  I  understand  it. 

Mayor  Harrison  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  don 't  want  to  enter  into 
a  discussion  of  this  question  before  the  committee,  but  there 
is  just  one  point  that  I  would  like  to  call  to  the  attention  of 
the  committee,  and  that  is  that  a  number  of  gentlemen  who  have 
spoken  here  have  made  reference  to  how  we  fought  the 
traction  companies  and  won  victories.  Now,  I  have  personal 
recollection  of  how  that  battle  was  fought,  and  how  it  was  won, 
and  I  am  free  to  confess  that  the  gentlemen  who  have  been 
laying  great  stress  upon  how  we  fought  and  won  the  victory 
were  not  in  the  fight  at  all. 

Mr.  Hull:  To  my  judgment,  it  was  a  fight  in  which  a 
very  great  many  people  participated,  Mr.  Harrison. 

The  Chairman  :  Are  there  any  other  questions  you  wish 
to  ask?    Mr.  Wacker. 

Mr.  Chas.  H.  Wacker:  I  have  a  few  letters  here  that  I 
would  like  to  file  with  the  committee,  and  I  hope  that  the  com- 
mittee will  find  it  convenient  to  read  them. 

Aid.  Hey:    Better  read  them  now. 

The  Chairman:    Are  they  very  lengthy? 

Mr.  Wacker:  No,  sir.  One  came  from  a  man  otfering  me 
400  feet  of  vacant  land,  179  feet  deep,  in  the  block  immediately 
south  of  Twenty-second  Street,  in  South  Park  Avenue,  at  the 
price  of  $300  per  front  foot. 

Aid.  Long  :  Mr.  Wacker,  pardon  me.  Have  they  to  do  with 
valuations  entirely? 


127 

Mr.  Waoker:    Yes. 

Aid.  Long:    Wouldn't  it  be  just  as  well  to  file  them? 

The  Chairman:  Some  of  the  members  want  them  read, 
that  is  all. 

Mr.  Wacker  :  That  is  at  the  rate  of  $1.75  per  square  foot, 
and  with  all  the  improvements  in,  not  made  land.  I  also  have 
a  letter  from  another  real  estate  man — they  were  not  solicited 
at  all — showing  their  way  of  figuring,  and  I  have  been  asked 
by  Mr.  John  Barton  Payne  to  read  a  letter  which  I  have  from 
Mr.  Aaron  A.  McKay,  which  I  will  do : 

January  25,  1912. 

Judge  John  Barton  Payne,  President  South  Park  Board,  Chicago,  III. 

Dear  Sir:  Having  lived  here  all  my  life,  or  over  half  a  century,  and 
having  been  in  the  real  estate  business  for  over  twenty-five  years,  in  which 
business  period  I  have  been  a  constant  student  of  values,  especially  keeping 
track  of  values  along  the  lake  shore,  makes  me  of  the  opinion  that  the  at- 
tempted agreement  between  the  Illinois  Central,  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners and  the  City  of  Chicago,  if  consummated,  all  things  considered,  will 
be  the  biggest  step  forward,  as  a  single  matter,  that  ever  occurred  in  the 
history  of  Chicago. 

I  make  the  bold  statement  that  on  the  entire  lake  front  of  the  City  of 
Chicago,  under  our  Illinois  laws,  shore  property  has  not  one  single  dollar 
of  value  in  it,  when  in  ownership  by  a  private  individual  or  corporation. 
The  only  body  which  can  make  it  of  value,  unless  by  special  grant  from  the 
Legislature,  is  a  Park  Board,  which  has  the  right  to  build  out  piers  to  pro- 
tect shore  land.  No  other  corporation  and  no  private  individual  is  allowed 
to  build  out  such  piers,  and  hence  an  owner  may  have  at  one  time,  say  50 
acres,  at  other  times  20  acres,  and,  some  time,  will  have  none  whatever,  due 
to  the  action  of  the  storms  on  the  sandy  beach. 

I  also  state  that  shore  property,  without  pier  protection,  has  never 
paid  one  dollar  of  income,  except  in  a  few  instances,  where  such  owners 
have  sold  sand. 

Next,  no  buildings  have  ever  been  built  or  can  be  built  close  to  the 
shore  line,  without  protection.  The  biggest  dream  or  illusion  that  has  been 
In  men's  minds  has  been  the  supposed  value  of  riparian  rights,  which  in  a 
money  value  has  never  yielded  a  single  dollar  to  any  owner. 

The  Taylors  at  Ninety-ninth  Street  had  50  or  60  acres  of  supposed  solid 
lands  thirty  years  ago  than  they  possessed  when  the  South  Park  Board 
condemned  and  took  the  remainder  some  two  or  three  years  ago. 

The  William  B.  Ogden  Estate  lost  money  in  the  filling  in  of  the  land 
at  the  North  Pier,  so  that  when  the  land  was  divided  some  five  years  ago,  it 
actually  sold  for  less  than  the  cost  of  the  filling. 

The  Newberry  people  at  Erie  and  Huron  Streets  have  not  made  any 
money  on  their  filling  in,  and  the  owners  who  filled  in  some  years  ago, 
north  of  the  water-works,  at  Oak  Street,  sold  their  filled-in  land  for  less 
than  half  what  it  cost  them. 

I  have  yet  to  hear  of  a  single  man  who  ever  made  a  dollar  on  riparian 
rights  in  the  front  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 

In  Indiana,  where  they  have  a  law  that  allows  all  riparian  owners  to 
build  piers  for  protection  at  a  special  distance  out  into  the  water,  each 
owner  knows  what  amount  he  can  have  and  that  he  can  maintain  such 
amount.  No  man  can  have  such  right  or  guarantee  here  in  the  front  of 
the  City  of  Chicago. 

Before  that  Indiana  law  was  made,  there  was  a  large  stretch  of  ground 
from  the  present  town  of  Gary  east,  that  sold  speculatively  from  $25  to 
$100  an  acre.  With  the  right  to  build  piers  to  protect  the  made  land  and 
with  the  establishment  of  the  gigantic  steel  works,  that  property  has  gone 
up  to  thousands  of  dollars  of  value  per  acre. 


128 

The  Illinois  Steel  Mill  at  South  Chicago  got  from  the  Legislature  the 
right  to  fill  in  about  100  acres  of  submerged  land  at  the  request,  not  of  the 
Bteel  comi)any,  but  of  the  majority  of  property  owners  in  South  Chicago, 
on  the  ground  that  such  extension  of  the  mill  would  be  a  vast  benefit  to 
South  Chicago  in  money  value,  and  such  filled-in  land,  when  completed, 
will  have  cost  the  company  nearly,  if  not  quite,  the  cash  market  value  of 
the  same.  Or,  to  make  it  clearer,  as  much  as  solid  land  would  cost  them, 
away  from  the  shore. 

The  history  of  all  cities  is  that  where  men  stop  improvements,  values 
go  down  and  such  cities  go  into  decay.  Take  in  our  own  city  here,  there 
are  instances  where  street  improvements  have  been  thwarted  for  years, 
with  the  result  that  such  property  is  worth  less  than  it  was  many  years 
ago,  and  the  increases  take  place  where  streets  and  districts  are  kept  up, 
which  attracts  high  class  improvements  in  the  way  of  buildings,  and  values 
thereabouts  are  strengthened. 

Without  making  a  long  statement,  just  think  of  the  beneficial  effect 
created  by  the  building  of  the  new  Northwestern  Terminal  on  all  west  side 
values,  going  out  west  as  far  as  Ashland  Avenue,  and  plenty  of  like  cases 
can  be  cited. 

The  talk  made  concerning  the  162  acres  of  submerged  area  to  be  given 
to  the  Illinois  Central,  that  it  is  worth  $21,000,000  in  its  present  condition, 
is  sheerly  absurd  to  me,  because  there  is  no  process  employed  in  arriving 
at  cash  market  values  of  real  estate  that  would  show  the  prospective  land 
to  be  worth  a  hundredth  part  of  that  sum  of  $212,000,  and  then  only  to  the 
Illinois  Central  and  no  one  else,  because  for  any  person  or  corporation  out- 
side of  the  Illinois  Central,  owing  to  the  lack  of  communication  with  that 
front  from  the  west,  and  the  difficulty  and  expense  encountered  in  filling 
and  building  retaining  walls,  plus  the  cost  of  the  number  of  viaducts  that 
would  necessarily  have  to  be  built  from  Lake  Avenue  to  cross  the  Illinois 
Central  tracks,  would  make  the  cost  of  that  land,  when  finished,  so  high  as 
to  be  prohibitive.  Furthermore,  it  then  even  would  be  a  piece  of  land  of 
such  shape  that  the  private  individual  or  corporation,  other  than  the  Illi- 
nois Central,  could  not  use  it  economically  or  advantageously,  and  it  can  be 
only  used  by  the  Illinois  Central  on  account  of  its  present  right  of  way 
siding  along  the  entire  length. 

So  that  with  the  other  great  beautifying  works  that  would  follow 
from  the  conclusion  of  this  agreement,  I  am  of  the  mind  that  not  only  will 
such  great  works  beget  improvements  by  private  individuals  in  such  dis- 
tricts, but  that  the  general  benefit  created  for  the  city  is  even  beyond  the 
measure  of  dollars. 

(Signed)     A.  M.  McKay. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  desire  to  say  just  a  word.  We  might 
go  on  for  years  with  figures.  We  might  ask  you  to  give  us  the 
time  to  refute  the  figures  which  they  have  given  us,  but  it  would 
be  endless.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  men  who  have  gone  into 
this  are  backed  up  b}^  the  figures  of  the  best  real  estate  men  in 
the  City  of  Chicago,  namely,  the  figures  presented  by  the  South 
Park  Commissioners,  and  we  believe  them  to  be  correct. 

Aid.  Long:  Before  you  go  any  further,  I  think  this  com- 
mittee is  pretty  generally  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  not  a  ques- 
tion of  the  land  values,  and  if  we  go  into  the  question  of  land 
values  our  hearings  will  become  interminable,  and  I  would  like 
to  suggest  to  those  who  speak  to  the  committee,  that  they  will 
be  much  more  effective  from  our  standpoint,  to  present  argu- 
ments that  concern  the  proposition  as  a  whole,  and  not  merely 
land  values. 


129 

Aid.  Emerson  :  I  beg  to  differ  with  you,  Alderman  Long. 
I  think  we  ought  to  go  into  the  question  of  values. 

Aid.  Nance  :  I  think  that  is  a  very  important  matter,  the 
value  of  the  land. 

The  Chairman  :  Well,  if  we  listen  to  all  the  real  estate  men 
in  Chicago,  we  will  never  get  through.  We  will  hear  from  Mr. 
Lessing  Rosenthal  now. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Mr.  Chairman,  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
deavoring to  be  brief,  I  have  jotted  down  a  few  notes  to  which 
I  will  take  the  liberty  of  referring. 

The  Hyde  Park  Improvement  Association  has  secured  the 
approval,  they  say,  of  Mayor  Harrison,  and  they  also  tell  us 
that  various  distinguished  men  are  in  favor  of  this  particular 
proposition.  Now  I  want  to  say  in  answer  to  that,  so  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  I  am  only  appearing  here  for  myself,  and  I  will  not 
hear  any  one  appear  for  myself,  because  if  there  isn  't  any  merit 
in  the  argument  I  am  making  here,  or  in  the  facts  or  figures 
that  I  present,  I  want  you  to  reject  them,  but  at  the  same  time 
I  don't  want  you — I  am  speaking  now  only  as  an  individual 
and  not  as  connected  with  any  organization  whatever — I  don't 
want  you  to  consider  any  argument  presented  by  any  body  of 
men,  unless  you  know  what  consideration  has  been  given  to  it; 
if  they  were  simply  asked  to  vote  on  this  thing  without  giving 
a  hearing  to  both  sides  of  the  issue.  And  what  is  going  to 
make  your  judgment  worth  while  as  a  committee  of  the  City 
Council  is  the  fact  that  you  are  deliberating  about  this  matter 
and  giving  this  matter  a  hearing,  which  in  the  days  gone  by 
was  impossible  to  obtain,  and  I  think  it  is  a  great  credit  to  the 
City  Council  that  it  sent  this  committee  here  to  listen  and  delib- 
erate, to  hear  from  all  sides,  and  to  listen  and  take  in  all  the 
figures  and  all  the  arguments  bearing  on  the  matter  and  to  ar- 
rive at  an  independent  judgment,  uninfluenced  by  any  particu- 
lar person  who  has  appeared. 

Now,  so  far  let  me  say  a  word.  The  Association  of  Com- 
merce, I  think,  is  a  body  pretending  to  represent  four  thousand 
people.  Well,  of  those  four  thousand  people  I  happen  to  be 
one.  I  don't  know  a  thing  about  what  the  Executive  Committee 
has  done.  I  have  met  a  good  many  others  who  belong  to  the 
association,  and  they  are  not  familiar  with  what  the  Executive 
Committee  has  done.  I  venture  to  say  that  it  was  a  discussion 
of  probably  fifteen  minutes  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Association  of  Commerce,  at  which  a  few  pictures  and  draw- 
ings were  presented,  and  both  sides  of  this  argument  were  not 
heard.  I  venture  to  say  that  there  has  been  no  endeavor,  so 
far  as  the  people  are  concerned,  to  hear  both  sides  of  this  ar- 
gument. 

Of  all  the  great  papers  brought  here  to  this  committee 


130 

there  lias  been  only  one  which  has  been  willing  to  present  both 
sides  of  it,  and  when  I  spoke  to  one  of  the  newspaper  managers 
about  withholding  their  criticism  of  this  matter,  criticising  the 
reporter  for  withholding  it,  he  says :  *' Don't  blame  the  reporter, 
blame  me.    I  didn't  think  that  ought  to  go  out." 

Now,  this  is  the  only  place  we  can  get  a  full  hearing  on 
this  proposition.  I  don't  know  that  the  Improvement  Associa- 
tions of  Hyde  Park  have  acted  as  such.  I  am  a  member  of  two 
of  them,  and  I  didn't  know  that  they  Ave  re  organized  for  any 
such  purposes,  or  even  that  they  were  organized  for  the  pur- 
pose of  sending  Mr.  Rush  here  to  tell  you  what  those  associa- 
tions are  for.  I  venture  to  say  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  by- 
laws of  those  associations  authorizing  any  member  to  appear 
here  as  representing  any  one  of  the  associations,  as  represent- 
ing their  opinions  in  the  matter.  So  far  as  the  distinguished 
Maj^or  is  concerned,  no  one  has  more  respect  for  him  than  1 
have.  I  know  that  any  approval  that  has  been  given  to  this 
project  necessarily  was  a  tentative  approval.  His  approval 
must  come  after  action  is  taken  by  the  City  Council.  The  law 
provides  that  method  of  doing  this  thing,  and  you  might  just  as 
well  say  that  a  matter  is  settled  in  court  before  the  judge  ren- 
ders his  decision.    Now  let  the  argument  proceed. 

Mayor  Haeeison:  Mr.  Rosenthal,  for  your  benefit  I  will 
say  that  I  will  withhold  my  judgment  until  the  question  is 
passed  upon  by  the  City  Council. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Well,  your  Honor,  it  was  wholly  unneces- 
sary for  you  to  say  that. 

Mayor  Harrison  :  It  was  wholly  unnecessary  for  you  to 
bring  up  the  matter  here. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Now,  I  didn't  want  any  wrong  inference 
to  get  out  into  the  community,  because  the  statement  was  made, 
and  it  was  made  unchallenged,  that  you  have  given  your  ap- 
proval. 

Mayor  Harrison:  That  is  tentative.  If  you  can  present 
any  argument  after  the  Council  has  acted,  I  would  then  exer- 
cise the  veto,  and  veto  the  ordinance,  but  it  must  be  real  argu- 
ment. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  I  was  absolutely  sure  of  that,  Mr.  Mayor, 
and  that  was  why  I  made  the  reference. 

Now,  take  the  conclusions  of  the  South  Park  Board  itself. 
Before  some  time  late  in  December  nobody  knew,  or  I  think 
until  after  the  middle  of  December,  this  contract  was  signed — 
December  IGtli.  That  was  not  a  subject  of  public  deliberation, 
not  the  subject  of  public  consideration.  I  am  not  assailing  the 
motives  of  any  of  those  men,  but  they  were  blind  to  one  side 
of  this  proposition.  They  were  willing  to  sacrifice  almost  any- 
thing for  the  outer  parkway,  or  they  were  willing  to  saerifioe  it 


131 

for  the  Field  Museum,  and  they  were  short-sighted,  to  my  no- 
tion on  the  subject,  because  they  lost  sight  of  the  real  rights 
of  the  people  and  what  was  ultimately  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people,  and  what  this  means  to  the  City  of  Chicago  and  to  all 
of  us  that  have  to  build  for  the  City  of  Chicago  in  the  future. 
If  that  was  not  true,  they  would  have  taken  a  different  attitude. 

Now,  what  are  riparian  rights  about  which  so  much  has 
been  said  here?  I  think  that  all  of  you  here  by  this  time  are 
familiar  with  the  fact  that  riparian  rights  are  only  rights  of 
natural  accretion ;  that  accretion  cannot  be  artificially  produced 
in  any  way,  and  if  it  is  artificially  produced  in  any  way  the 
land  that  is  thus  produced  belongs  to  the  city. 

Now,  Mr.  Wacker  presented  a  letter  from  Mr.  McKay  and 
I  heartily  agree  with  much  that  is  said  in  that  letter.  Mr. 
McKay  said  that  the  riparian  rights  are  of  no  value  because 
there  are  no  natural  accretions,  and  if  there  are  any,  it  is  arti- 
ficially done,  and,  therefore,  no  allowance  ought  to  be  made  for 
that.  Well,  if  that  is  the  case,  the  gentlemen  who  are  present- 
ing this  contract  to  your  body  and  asking  you  to  confirm  it,  in 
which  an  enormous  sum  is  being  paid  for  these  riparian  rights, 
they  ought  not  to  do  it,  I  say. 

Mr.  Wacker:    Well,  we  are  glad  you  like  it. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  Yes,  I  think  that  is  one  of  the  best  argu- 
ments on  our  side  that  could  have  been  presented,  and  I  want 
to  thank  you  for  presenting  it,  but  if  you  had  not  jjresented  it 
and  turned  it  over  to  us,  we  would  have  presented  it  for  you, 
because  here  is  a  man  who  is  a  real  estate  man  and  a  practical 
man,  who  has  looked  into  the  matter  and  says  that  these  riparian 
rights,  if  valued  at  the  excessive  valuation  of  $100  per  foot, 
would  produce  a  total  valuation  of  two  and  a  half  millions  or 
iibout  three  millions.  He  tells  you  that  they  are  worth  nothing. 
Now,  that  coincides  to  some  extent  with  what  Mr.  Donners- 
berger  tells  us,  of  the  South  Park  Board,  that  he  has  valued 
them  at  $20,  and  that  the  Mayor  objected  that  the  value  was 
too  high,  and  I  am  sure  that  in  a  condemnation  proceeding  they 
wouldn't  put  the  value  as  high. 

Now,  I  am  talking  about  what  Mayor  Harrison  has  said  as 
an  individual,  and  not  what  he  has  said  in  his  official  capacity. 
And  the  same  statement  has  been  made  by  Mr.  Donnersberger. 
What  are  you  people  getting!  The  people  are  getting  $186,- 
000,000,  if  those  values  are  correct,  but  from  whom  are  the  peo- 
ple getting  it?  Why,  it  is  the  most  fallacious  argument  that 
<?ould  be  injected  into  this  controversy,  because  the  people  are 
getting  nothing,  the  people  have  the  thing  now.  The  people  are 
the  owners  of  the  submerged  lands.  The  State  holds  it  in  trust 
for  the  people,  and  they  are  simply  parting  with  200  to  400  feet 


132 

of  these  submerged  lands,  giving  them  to  the  Illinois  Central, 
but  the  people  already  have  it. 

A  Citizen:  Mr.  Chairman,  may  I  ask  Mr.  Bosenthal  a 
question? 

The  Chairman  :    Yes. 

The  Citizen  :  In  your  opinion  as  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Rosenthal, 
could  the  municipality  of  the  City  of  Chicago  or  the  State  of 
Illinois,  the  Illinois  Central  having  riparian  rights,  could  they 
take  these  riparian  rights? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  By  condemnation  proceedings,  by  pay- 
ing them  compensation,  whatever  the  value  is. 

The  Citizen :    Can  they  do  that? 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :    The  State-  of  Illinois  f 

The  Citizen:    Yes. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    Unquestionably. 

The  Citizen  :    Can  the  City  of  Chicago? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  They  can  do  it  for  harbors  and  they  can 
do  it  tor  bathing  beaches,  and  they  did  it  for  the  small  parks. 

The  Citizen:     But  did  they? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Now,  Alderman  Long  will  support  me  in 
that. 

The  Citizen  :  What  I  am  getting  at,  Mr.  Rosenthal,  is  if  in 
your  opinion  as  a  lawyer,  the  City  of  Chicago  or  the  South  Park 
Board  is  in  a  position  to  condemn  the  riparian  rights  that  now 
belong  to  the  Illinois  Central? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  No.  I  am  going  to  tell  you  why.  I  am 
going  to  say  in  just  a  minute.  Now,  to  follow  out  the  line  of 
thought  that  I  had  a  moment  ago.  Why,  it  is  said  it  is  costing 
the  people  nothing.  You  might  as  well  say  give  the  streets 
over  to  the  traction  companies  for  nothing.  There  they  are. 
It  is  what  is  known  as  the  conservation  doctrine,  a  doctrine  which 
has  been  refuted  for  the  last  few  years.  Some  of  the  corpora- 
tions that  have  been  seizing  the  coal  lands  and  the  water  rights. 
Why,  they  say,  it  is  not  costing  the  people  anything.  The  water 
is  there,  and  we  are  appropriating,  and  the  coal  lands,  and  the 
public  OAvns  them,  but  we  are  appropriating  them.  Why,  it  is 
an  absolutely  exploded  argument  in  this  day,  and  ought  not  to 
be  injected  into  this  matter,  and  ought  not  to  be  made  by  any- 
body, because  the  submerged  lands  belong  to  the  people  just  as 
much  as  the  streets  of  the  City  of  Chicago  belong  to  the  people, 
and  if  they  haven't  any  right  to  take  into  consideration  the 
value  of  the  submerged  lands,  then  we  haven't  any  right  to 
derive  a  profit  from  the  traction  companies  for  the  use  of  the 
streets  in  the  City  of  Chicago. 

Mr.  Wacker:    Do  you  consider  that  a  parallel  argument, 
Mr.  Rosenthal  ? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    I  beg  your  pardon. 


133 

Mr.  Wacker:    Do  you  consider  that  a  parallel  easel 

Mr.  EosENTHAL :  I  do,  I  do.  Now,  so  far  as^  the  right  to 
condemn  is  concerned,  the  peculiar  thing  about  this  legislation 
is  that  in  other  park  Acts,  the  park  Act  that  authorized  the 
Lincoln  Park  Board  to  extend  its  driveways,  and  other  park 
Acts  allowing  the  building  of  small  parks,  municipal  parks, 
there  are  any  number  of  Acts,  and  by  any  of  those  Acts  the 
right  to  condemn  is  given,  but  simply  as  one  Act. 

Mr.  Butler:  If  that  is  true,  why  can't  you  apply  it  to 
this?  You  ought  to  know  that  we  can't  do  it,  or  we  wouldn't 
have  gone  to  Springfield  to  work  for  this  bill.  They  can't  do 
that.  One  park  is  like  another  park,  and  you  can't  make  spe- 
cial legislation. 

Aid.  Nance  :  Mr.  Chairman,  may  I  suggest  that  each  speak- 
er be  allowed  to  complete  his  argument. 

The  Chairman:    I  was  just  going  to  suggest  it. 

Mr.  Butler  :    I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Chairman. 

TTie  Chairman:    That  is  all  right. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  Now,  they  got  that  under  one  of  the  park 
Acts,  authorizing  the  Park  Board  to  extend  their  driveways  or 
parkway,  under  those  Acts,  and  it  was  said  that  the  driveway 
could  be  extended  from  Jackson  Park  to  connect  with  Lincoln, 
and  proceeded  under  that  Act  which  gives  the  power  of  con- 
demnation. Now,  this  Act  had  been  drafted  similar  to  other 
Acts,  so  that  the  power  of  condemnation  would  never  have  been 
withheld,  and  why  was  it  withheld?  AVhy  this  power,  which  is 
lodged  in  the  State  by  the  people,  should  be  withheld  from  peo- 
ple like  the  South  Park  Commissioners  that  were  exercising  it 
and  are  exercising  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  why  should 
that  be  the  case? 

Now,  isn't  it  the  most  abject  surrender  to  mere  corporation 
authority?  And  I  want  to  say  that  I  represent  a  number  of 
corporations,  and  I  am  not  speaking  here  in  the  ordinary  term. 
I  have  no  objection  to  people  simply  because  they  are  connected 
with  a  corporation.  I  am  a  stockholder  in  corporations,  and  all 
that.  I  am  not  using  it  in  that  sense  at  all,  but  I  am  using  it  in 
this  sense,  that  where  large  corporate  influences  are  exercised 
for  the  purpose  of  withholding  from  the  people  rights  which 
the  people  ought  to  be  empowered  to  exercise,  and  instead  of  put- 
ting the  Park  Board  on  a  level  with  the  Illinois  Central,  the 
purpose  of  this  entire  legislation  is  to  tie  the  hands  of  the  Park 
Board,  and  say,  Yes,  you  want  that;  that  is  all  right,  you  can 
have  it,  if  you  give  us  our  price,  because  by  no  other  method 
can  you  get  it.  They  say  that  is  all  right.  They  say  they  will 
take  that  anyway.  Before  this  contract  can  be  ratified  there 
must  be  a  proceeding  in  the  court.    Any  person  can  appear. 

There  is  a  sentiment  against  this  project  in  the  manner  in 


134 

which  it  is  being  conducted.  Many  citizens  appear  against  it, 
and  before  you  get  through  with  it,  I  believe  that  the  enlight- 
ened sentiment  of  the  people  of  the  City  of  Chicago  will  be  heard 
in  some  court. 

Now,  it  is  said  here  you  are  going  to  delay  the  time  within 
which  you  can  do  this.  The  Northwestern  Railway  had  the 
right  to  condemn.  They  have  the  power  of  eminent  domain,  and 
can  exercise  the  power  of  eminent  domain  by  bringing  suit. 
When  they  wanted  to  come  into  the  City  of  Chicago  and  build 
their  new  terminal  on  Madison  Street,  it  didn't  take  very  long 
after  they  made  up  their  minds  to  have  their  station  at  the  par- 
ticular place,  to  acquire  the  property,  and  all  appeals  were  al- 
lowed afterwards,  and  under  the  eminent  domain  act,  after 
there  is  judgment  in  the  lower  court,  possession  can  be  taken, 
and  appeals  simply  go  to  the  question  of  damages.  And  so 
there  will  not  be  any  extraordinary  delay. 

Now,  furthermore,  they  say,  "When  are  you  going  to  get 
this  through  the  Legislature?"  "Wliy  wait  until  the  Legisla- 
ture meets  again,  and  then  perhaps  be  balked  by  the  Legisla- 
ture?" The  Legislature  is  susceptible  to  one  thing  to  a  certain 
extent,  and  that  is  the  fear  of  a  strong  public  opinion.  If  you 
have  public  opinion  well  aroused  on  this  proposition,  and  the 
people  aroused  on  the  subject,  I  will  tell  you  that  the  Legisla- 
ture or  any  Legislature  cannot  fail  to  recognize  it;  unless  they 
are  thoroughly  corrupt,  they  can't  withhold  from  the  citizens 
this  right. 

Now,  yesterday  morning  I  happened  to  notice  on  the  second 
page  of  the  Tribune  that  Governor  Deneen  had  in  mind  the 
calling  of  a  special  session  of  the  Legislature.  After  I  read 
that — and  I  might  say  that  his  purpose  was  announced  in  the 
Tribune  on  account  of  the  last  appropriation  bill,  and  also  for 
the  purpose  of  allowing  primaries  on  the  Presidential  matter — 
I  found  out  that  Governor  Deneen  was  here  in  the  city.  I  got 
in  communication  with  Governor  Deneen  at  midnight  and  went 
to  see  him,  and  spent  an  hour  with  him  discussing  this  particu- 
lar proposition,  and  I  am  authorized  by  Governor  Deneen  to 
say  if  there  is  a  demand  for  a  special  session  of  the  Legislature 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to 
condemn  and  acquire  riparian  rights  in  that  way,  he  will  call  a 
special  session  of  the  Legislature,  and  he  said  a  mere  expression 
by  the  Council,  asking  him  to  convene  a  special  session  of  the 
Legislature  for  that  purpose,  since  this  question  concerns  all 
the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  would  be  sufficient  to  warrant 
him  in  proceeding.  (Applause.)  So  this  delay  we  have  talked 
of,  and  which  has  been  contemplated,  is  not  as  great  as  we  sup- 
posed it  would  be,  and  all  we  need  to  do  is  to  work  for  that 


135 

right  in  the  same  way  in  which  we  have  been  working  here  on 
both  sides  of  this  proposition. 

Alderman  Long,  I  have  in  mind  what  you  said  about  the 
question  of  values,  but  I  do  want  to  say  simply  a  word  in  an- 
swer to  some  of  the  arguments. 

When  you  come  to  compute  values  here  you  may  say  that 
the  question  of  values  here  is  unimportant,  but  do  you  gentle- 
men recognize  that  this  grant  by  the  South  Park  Commission- 
ers to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  means  more  than  the  dupli- 
cation of  their  present  right  of  way?  Now,  if  we  are  looking 
into  the  matter  of  values,  why,  just  let  us  have  some  of  these 
gentlemen  figure  up,  or  have  their  real  estate  experts  figure  up 
for  us,  what  the  value  of  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way  is 
from  Twelfth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street.  That  is  more  than  a 
duplication,  and  let  us  take  that  as  a  basis  of  the  value,  and  I 
want  to  say  to  you  gentlemen,  furthermore,  that  we  can  pro- 
duce you  more  than  one  railroad  corporation  now  entering  the 
City  of  Chicago  or  wanting  to  come  into  the  City  of  Chicago 
that  will  pay  you  more  than  five  times  the  value  of  the  riparian 
rights  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  as  they  may  be  adjudged 
in  any  condemnation  suit,  including — including,  I  tell  you,  the 
value  of  these  grants  along  the  shore  for  the  privilege  of  com- 
ing across  that  strip. 

There  is  not  a  more  valuable  strip  in  the  City  of  Chicago 
than  that  particular  strip,  and  why  should  it  be  given  to  the 
Illinois  Central? 

Let  me  tell  you  of  another  criterion  of  values.  If  you  say 
that  we  are  off  in  our  figures,  let  us  get  the  Illinois  Central  to 
tell  us  what  it  is  deriving  at  the  present  time  for  its  leases.  Let 
it  tell  us  what  it  is  getting  from  the  Michigan  Central,  what  it  is 
getting  from  the  Wisconsin  Central,  what  it  is  getting  from  the 
same  roads  for  their  strips  of  land,  and  let  us  have  that  as  a 
criterion  of  values,  because  the  income  of  a  producing  property 
is  one  of  the  elements  that  must  be  taken  into  account.  And 
still  another  criterion — I  made  a  memorandum  of  it — in  1898 
the  city  purchased  the  land — and  this  is  from  the  report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Public  Works  for  1898,  page  234 — in  1898  the 
city  purchased  land  165  by  220  at  Thirty-ninth  Street  fronting' 
on  Lake  Avenue  and  adjoining  the  Illinois  Central  tracks ;  that 
was  in  1898,  almost  fourteen  years  ago;  the  price  at  that  time 
was  $74,000 ;  the  number  of  square  feet  were  44,550  on  a  basis  of 
$1.65  per  square  foot  for  that  particular  land,  which  was  not 
railroad  land,  and  figuring  on  the  value  of  that — and  I  am  will- 
ing to  admit  in  rny  argument  that  the  cost  of  the  building,  which 
is  not  an  excessive  cost,  because  the  water  is  low  at  those  par- 
ticular points,  is  not  large — and  when  you  are  estimating  the 
value  of  these  riparian  rights,  gentlemen,  take  into  account  also . 


136 

that  to  a  large  extent  those  riparian  rights  constitute  a  liabil- 
ity at  the  present  day  to  the  Illinois  Central,  because  the  Illi- 
nois Central  has  to  maintain  the  breakwater,  and  has  to  keep  up 
the  breakwater  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  erosions  of  the 
shore. 

But  all  of  us,  I  think,  are  agreed  about  this  proposition 
that  we  are  opposing,  that  it  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  values. 
Mr.  Hutchinson  said  here  the  other  day  rather  dramatically,  the 
last  thing  about  this  is  dollars  and  cents.  I  would  never  be 
willing  that  we  should  put  it  on  that  basis.  Others  who  are  asso- 
ciated with  me  in  opposing  this  are  not  willing  that  it  should  be 
put  on  the  dollars  and  cents  basis.  But  we  are  opposed  to  it 
on  account  of  the  great  increase  of  those  nuisances  along  the 
lake  front,  this  impassable  and  unbearable  barrier  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  And  does  the  Illinois  Central  need  such  a  width? 
And  if  the  Illinois  Central  has  it,  why  not  give  the  Northwest- 
ern a  right  of  way  of  this  width,  and  the  Northwestern  is  a 
bigger  road,  and  does  far  more  business,  and  is  a  road  of  much 
more  consequence  than  the  Illinois  Central. 

In  the  City  of  New  York,  why  wasn't  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral given  a  greater  right  of  way"?  And  you  don't  see  the  New 
York  Central  above  the  surface  of  the  street  within  the  limits 
of  New  York  City. 

The  main  point  of  our  whole  objection  to  this  enterprise, 
this  whole  scheme  here,  is  the  objection  to  a  great  freight  yard 
in  the  center  of  the  city.  It  has  no  place  there,  and  you  want  to 
put  it  there,  and  you  wish  to  say  to  these  gentlemen  who  want 
to  beautify  this  city:  Yes,  we  will  help  you  beautify  the  city, 
but  we  will  not  help  you  beautify  the  city  and  destroy  your 
improvements  at  the  same  time  by  putting  adjacent  to  what  you 
have  got,  a  great  freight  yard.    We  don't  need  it.     (Applause.) 

The  Chairman:  I  will  ask  the  gentlemen  to  refrain  from 
any  demonstration.  This  committee  wants  to  deliberate  on  this 
matter,  and  it  is  not  a  matter  of  applause.  We  will  try  and 
get  at  the  facts  the  best  we  can,  and  I  would  prefer  to  have  every 
one  refrain  from  any  demonstration. 

Mr.  KosENTHAL :  I  agree  with  Mr.  Butler  when  he  says  that 
switching  will  destroy  the  most  beautiful  residence  section  of 
the  city.  I  think  he  hit  the  nail  on  the  head  when  he  said  that, 
but  not  merely  switching,  the  running  enormous  railroad  trains 
and  the  smoke  and  soot,  and  so  forth,  poured  out  by  the  en- 
gines, and  other  difficulties  that  will  be  concerned  in  having 
these  enormous  railroad  yards,  will  also  interfere  with  the  beau- 
ties of  that  residence  district,  and  will  be  destructive  of  it. 

Now,  we  have  got  to  look  forward  to  the  time,  and  this  is 
no  idle  dream — I  want  to  repeat,  it  is  no  idle  dream — we  have 
got  to  look  forward  to  the  time,  when  the  Illinois  Central  can  be 


137 

compelled  to  depress  its  tracks  in  the  City  of  Chicago.  You  can 
compel  depression  of  tracks  just  as  well  as  you  can  compel  the 
elevation  of  tracks,  and  although  the  railroads  for  a  long  time 
contested  the  elevation  of  the  tracks,  that  principle  was  estab- 
lished, and  the  principle  is  established  also  that  you  can  compel 
them  to  depress  their  tracks.  Now,  if  they  are  depressed,  the 
Illinois  Central  could  come  through  a  200-foot  cut,  and  the  view 
of  the  lake  would  not  be  obstructed,  and  if  I  had  Mr.  Butler's 
power  of  portraying  a  picture,  I  could  tell  you  how  much  more 
beautiful  the  aesthetic  value — and  because  I  am  interested,  and 
I  know  he  is  interested — how  much  more  beautiful  in  aesthetic 
value  would  be  a  view  of  the  lake  or  park,  unobstructed  by  a 
great  freight  yard. 

Now,  if  you  are  going  to  extend  this  freight  railroad  yard 
from  400  to  600  feet  and  some  parts  700  feet — much  greater  in 
length  than  the  distance  here  from  Randolph  Street  to  Washing- 
ton Street,  I  believe  that  is  about  it,  or  a  little  more  than  400 
feet — I  will  ask  some  of  our  real  estate  friends  to  tell  me.  Mr. 
Tabor? 

Mr.  Tabor:    396  feet. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:     396  feet. 

Mr.  Tabor:    About  400  feet. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  Well,  we  have  it,  over  400  feet  from  Ran- 
dolph Street  to  Washington  Street,  and  you  are  going — T  say, 
400  feet  from  the  center  of  Randolph  Street,  and  you  are  going 
to  have  a  freight  yard  much  bigger  than  this,  much  bigger,  im- 
mediately adjacent  to  this  supposed  beautiful  right  of  way. 

Now,  there  is  another  thing  to  which  attention  has  not  been 
given.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  museum  will  be  lost  to  the  city. 
Let  me  go  back  to  history,  and  also  to  recent  history.  You  gen- 
tlemen will  remember  that  when  Montgomery  Ward  persisted 
in  his  suits — which  all  these  gentlemen  now  admit  must  be  of 
great  value  to  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  when  Montgomery  Ward 
was  damned  up  hill  and  down  dale  by  most  of  the  citizens  of  the 
City  of  Chicago,  and  by  most  of  the  newspapers,  for  the  obsti- 
nate, selfish  action  which  they  said  he  was  taking,  but  all  applaud 
that  action  at  this  time,  it  was  said  at  that  time  that  unless  he 
v/ithdrew  his  action,  that  the  museum  would  be  absolutely  lost 
to  the  City  of  Chicago.  It  has  not  been  lost.  It  cannot  be  lost, 
because  under  the  terms  of  the  will  the  site  has  been  located — 
has  been  selected,  and  I  think  that  the  directors  or  trustees  of 
the  museum  will  be  public-spirited  enough  to  wait  until  the  ap- 
propriate time  comes  for  the  purpose  of  locating  the  museum 
in  the  right  spot,  and  that  this  matter  of  delaying  the  construc- 
tion of  the  museum  a  few  years  for  the  purpose  of  getting  for 
the  people  what  belongs  to  the  people  cannot  seriously  affect 
the  final  result.    I  think  that  the  trustees  of  the  Field  Colum- 


138 

bian  Museum  ought  to  be  public-spirited  enough  to  see  that  the 
proper  thing  can  be  accomplished.  There  is  no  legal  difficulty  in 
the  way  of  accomplishing  it,  none  whatever. 

It  might  be  delaying  us  for  a  year  in  getting  a  beautiful 
building,  but  what  of  that  in  comparison  with  having  this  ques- 
tion settled  right  and  preserving  something  that  is  really  great 
and  valuable  to  our  posterity? 

Now,  this  whole  thing  of  granting  four  and  a  half  miles  of 
right  of  way  of  this  width  cannot  be  made  dependent  entirely 
upon  obtaining  a  museum  site.  There  are  other  methods  of  ob- 
taining a  museum  site.  There  is  nothing  in  the  law,  I  take  it, 
that  will  prevent  the  people  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  or  the  Park 
Commissioners,  from  being  allowed  to  build  a  beautiful  island 
not  far  distant  from  the  shore  line,  but  just  far  enough  to  allow 
navigation  in  between,  filling  in  for  the  island.  AVliat  is  there  to 
restrain  the  city  from  doing  that  1  That  does  not  interfere  with 
the  riparian  rights,  because  the  Illinois  Central  would  still  have 
access  to  the  water.    No  interference  whatever. 

And  the  people  will  also  be  allowed,  with  the  consent  of  the 
government,  to  build  that  island,  and  we  may  have  in  the  end 
something  more  beautiful  than  is  at  present  contemplated. 

Mr.  Wacker  has  said  that  he  is  for  progress.  I  think  he  is. 
I  think  he  means  to  be,  but  I  think  that  the  position  that  he 
takes  and  that  the  other  gentlemen  here  take  are  steps  back- 
ward. They  are  not  steps  for  progress.  They  mean  surrender- 
ing the  rights  that  we  possess  at  present.  Now,  that  is  common 
sense.  I  am  not  asking  you  to  oppose  this  ordinance,  and  I  do 
not  ask  any  gentleman  to  take  the  same  view  that  I  do  about 
it.  I  am  not  asking  you  to  oppose  this  ordinance  because  the 
Illinois  Central  has  acted  in  the  manner  in  which  it  has  in  the 
years  past.  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  decide  this  case  and  de- 
liberate upon  it  on  its  own  merits,  but  remember  this,  that  it  is 
not  the  first  time  that  the  people  have  had  to  meet  for  the  con- 
st rvation  and  holding  by  the  people  of  this  shore  land.  For 
years  and  years  in  this  State  and  through  the  lobby  in  the 
Legislature  the  Illinois  Central  has  attempted  and  endeavored 
to  get  hold  of  the  rights  of  the  people  in  the  waters  of  the  lake 
front,  and  it  was  not  settled  easily.  It  took  years  of  litigation 
to  prevent  them  from  acquiring  all  of  them.  It  took  action  on 
the  part  of  the  people,  and  it  took  a  determined  stand  on  the 
part  of  the  men  who  were  not  frightened  by  the  obstacles  stand- 
ing in  the  way  of  progress.  Attacks  have  been  made  on  the 
men  who  have  come  forward  and  voiced  their  sentiments.  Many 
of  the  best  citizens  of  Chicago  were  attacked. 

And  let  me  say  that  at  first  impression  I  was  in  favor  of 
this  contract.  I  was  for  the  time  being  misled,  I  might  say,  of 
course  not  intentionally,  by  a  beautiful  picture  that  was  spread 


139 

out  before  me.  As  I  say,  a  picture  of  the  green  trees  and  the 
grass  and  all  that,  and  the  palms,  and  the  buildings  that  may  or 
may  not  be  constructed  in  that  particular  way.  For  the  moment 
I  ^''id  not  see  this  impassable  barrier.  That  was  not  shown, 
that  was  not  illustrated  on  the  picture.  The  facts  were  not  illus- 
trated on  the  picture.  But  the  situation  was  different  when  I 
looked  into  it,  and  every  person  who  has  appeared  here,  with 
whom  I  am  associated  in  opposition  to  this  thing,  why,  every  one 
of  these  persons  has  changed  his  mind.  I  want  to  read  simply 
one  sentence.  It  is  a  long  page,  but  I  don't  intend  by  any  means 
to  read  this  page.  I  want  to  read  simply  one  sentence  from  the 
opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  case  of  the  Illinois  Central 
against  the  City  of  Chicago,  in  the  173d  Illinois,  page  471,  and 
that  was  at  the  time  the  Illinois  Central  was  contending  it  had  a 
right  to  build  a  warehouse  outside  of  this  right  of  way,  and  the 
city  had  proceeded  by  lawful  means  to  stop  the  Illinois  Central 
from  doing  this  particular  thing. 

The  court  said  in  that  ease,  "but  even  if  the  grant  in  the 
charter  was  broad  enough  to  include  the  waters  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan" and  that  is  what  the  Illinois  Central  was  contending — "it 
does  not  follow  that  the  railroad  would  have  the  right  at  any 
time  it  may  see  proper  to  take  and  appropriate  for  its  own  use 
any  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan. "  It  is  true  that  the  State 
holds  title  to  the  lands  covered  by  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan 
lying  within  its  boundaries,  but  it  holds  both  in  trust  for  the 
people  for  the  purpose  of  navigation.  The  State  has  no  power 
to  appropriate  and  sell  lands  as  the  United  States  sells  its  lands, 
but  "the  State  holds  title  in  trust  in  its  sovereign  capacity" — 
as  held  in  162d  Illinois,  page  138. 

Now,  in  dealing  with  this  question,  irrespective  of  any  ac- 
tion that  the  South  Park  Commissioners  have  taken,  you  ought 
to  dear  with  it  as  a  public  body,  and  you  ought  to  determine 
whether  this  thing  in  the  end  is  beneficial  for  the  people,  whether 
it  is  the  best  thing  the  people  can  get.  The  thing  to  do  is  to 
reject  this  ordinance  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  presented 
here,  and  start  out  confining  the  Illinois  Central  to  its  right  of 
way,  pay  for  the  value  of  the  riparian  rights,  call  Mr.  McKay 
as  an  expert  witness  to  show  that  they  are  of  no  value,  and  we 
will  have  others  to  support  him  in  that  proposition,  and  I  am  not 
willing  to  have  a  very  large  value  paid  for  that,  and  then  we  will 
have  our  museum  site  and  our  park  site,  and  do  it  properly 
without  making  cowards  of  ourselves. 

I  want  to  thank  you  for  your  attention. 

A  Citizen:  Does  the  committee  desire  to  hear  from  any- 
body else? 

The  Chairman  :  I  have  some  names  here.  We  have  about 
fourteen  or  fifteen  other  gentlemen  that  wish  to  be  heard. 


140 

Aid.  KuNz :    I  move  that  we  take  a  recess  until  tomorrow, 

The  Chairman  :  We  can  sit  here  for  another  hour,  just  as 
well  as  not. 

Mr.  Lee:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  got  a  single  page  that  I 
would  like  to  submit  to  the  committee. 

The  Chairman  :    We  will  take  them  right  in  rotation. 

Aid.  KuNz:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  desire  to  move  you  that  we 
take  a  recess  until  tomorrow. 

Aid.  Hey  :    Second  that  motion. 

The  Chairman:  I  understand  that,  Mr.  Kunz,  but  these 
gentlemen  have  sacrificed  their  time  to  come  here. 

Aid.  Kunz  :    I  have  an  appointment. 

The  Chairman  :  It  is  only  a  quarter  after  five,  and  there  is 
no  reason  why  we  can't  sit  here  half  an  hour. 

Aid.  Kunz:    Well,  you  are  going  to  come  here  tomorrow. 

Aid.  Brennan:    Well,  why  don't  you  put  the  motion? 

The  Chairman  :  Well,  I  thought  perhaps  Mr.  Kunz  would 
withdraw  his  motion.  I  was  in  hopes  he  would.  Let  us  stay 
until  half  past  five  and  we  will  adjourn,  that  is  only  fifteen 
minutes. 

Mr.  ToMAZ  F.  Deuther  (Secretary  of  the  Greater  Chicago 
Federation) :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  here  a  resolution.  I  am 
representing  the  Greater  Chicago  Federation.  We  are  a  federa- 
tion that  are  scattered  all  over  the  city,  the  South  Side,  and 
North  Side  and  all  sides.  Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  has  given  in  de- 
tail all  of  the  arguments,  and  this  is  a  resolution  adopted  at  a 
meeting  held  on  January  24th  at  the  Great  Northern  Hotel. 

Aid.  Geiger:  I  would  like  to  ask  how  many  were  present 
at  the  meeting  when  this  resolution  was  adopted? 

Mr.  Deuther:  There  are  twenty-seven  associations,  and 
each  delegate  has  full  power  to  act  for  his  association  on  all 
matters. 

Aid.  Kunz  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  ask  one  or  two 
questions. 

The  Chairman  :  Well,  just  a  minute.  Let  him  read  the 
resolution. 

Aid.  Long  :  I  would  like  to  ask  if  Mr.  Deuther  is  going  to 
present  any  arguments  at  this  time? 

Mr.  Deuther  :    No.    I  will  simply  read  the  resolution : 

The  Greater  Chicago  Federation  earnestly  petitions  your  honorable  body 
not  to  confirm  the  contract  between  the  South  Park  Board  and  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad.  Our  basic  objection  to  the  contract  lies  in  the  fact  that 
It  widens  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way  from  Twelfth  to  Fifty-first  Street 
about  225  feet  and  thereby  gives  the  railroad  the  opportunity  to  construct 
a  long  railroad  yard,  make  more  noise  and  smoke  and  generally  increase 
the  present  railroad  nuisance.  The  boulevard  advantages  will  be  more  than 
offset  by  this  disadvantage. 

We  believe  that  all  riparian  and  other  rights  of  the  Illinois  Central 
which  are  needed  for  public  uses  should  be  condemned  and  paid  for  in 


141 

money  and  not  secured  by  a  trade  which  only  makes  bad  worse,  and  that 
if  condemnation  is  not  now  lawfully  possible,  that  the  matter  be  permitted 
to  rest  until  the  laws  are  changed. 

The  Greater  Chicago  Federation, 
By  E.  A.  Deach,  President. 

ToMAZ  F.  Deuther,  Secretary. 
Chicago,  111.,  January  24.  1912. 

That  is  all  I  have  to  say,  gentlemen.  I  won't  take  up  your 
time. 

Mr.  Butler:    Mr.  Chairman 

The  Chairman  :  I  have  some  others  here.  We  will  listen  to 
Mr.  Joseph  Defrees  now. 

Mr.  Defrees  :  Mr.  Chairman,  it  seems  to  me,  as  I  said  here 
this  afternoon,  that  a  good  deal  that  has  been  said  has  only  to 
do  with  the  features  and  details  of  the  matter,  and  that  the 
whole  thing  is  one  of  whether  the  advantage  is  with  the  public 
in  this  proposition.  There  cannot  be  any  question  or  principle 
in  it  such  as  some  of  the  gentlemen  have  suggested,  because  it 
is  in  the  nature  only  of  a  commercial  question  in  the  matter  of 
a  trade  between  the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois 
Central,  to  which  the  ratification  of  the  city  may  be  necessary. 

I  remember  some  fifteen  years  ago  that  a  similar  project 
was  up,  and  there  was  just  as  much  enthusiasm  then  as  there  is 
now,  and  it  got  to  a  point  a  little  bit  further  along,  as  I  recall 
it,  than  the  present  project  is,  and  it  was  interfered  with  by 
some  technicality,  and  everybody  who  had  worked  for  years  and 
months  on  the  proposition  simply  became  tired,  and  it  was  de- 
layed from  that  time  until  this.  Men  who  have  public  spirit  and 
who  had  been  working  all  their  lives  constantly  on  this  matter 
became  tired  and  gave  it  up. 

I  venture  to  say  that  if  this  matter  is  defeated  now,  there 
will  be  another  generation  to  take  this  matter  up  and  carry  it  to 
a  conclusion.  It  took  fifteen  years  to  bring  it  back  again,  and  it 
will  take  another  fifteen  years.  I  cannot  now  think  of  a  single 
gentleman  who  was  active  in  the  other  project,  and  they  have 
gone  to  their  long  rest,  most  of  them.  I  was  young  myself.  Let 
us  see  what  happened.  One  ought  not  to  be  much  excited  when 
one  is  getting  a  bargain,  if  he  is  getting  all  that  he  is  entitled  to, 
no  matter  what  the  other  fellow  is  getting  away  from  him,  if  he 
is  getting  so  much  that  he  can  afford  to  make  the  transaction. 

This  whole  thing,  it  seems  to  me,  turns  on  whether  or  not 
the  advantages  which  will  come  from  this  transaction  are  greater 
than  the  disadvantages,  the  disadvantages  arising,  so  far  as  I 
understand  it,  and  so  far  as  I  have  heard  said  here,  from  the  in- 
creased right  of  way  on  the  part  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad, 
which  will  not  only  aid,  but  increase  the  tracks  and  the  traffic 
going  along  the  lake  front.  The  advantage  is  the  advantage  that 
will  come  about  by  creating  a  great  pleasure  way  and  a  great 


142 


park  outside  in  the  lake.  The  Illinois  Central  cannot  now  utilise 
its  riparian  rights  particularly  for  its  advantage.  That  may 
be  admitted.  If  they  make  this  transaction  they  will  get  some 
more  land.  The  public  gives  up  its  rights  to  that  land,  but  in  i 
its  present  form  the  public's  right  to  that  land  is  useless.  It  is 
said  by  getting  the  right  of  condemnation,  which  we  may  get 
from  another  Legislature,  it  can  be  condemned,  and  then  we 
would  have  this  park  200  feet  nearer  to  the  shore,  and  the  rail 
road  right  of  way  and  the  traffic  along  there  would  be  much 
less.  So  the  question  of  delay  is  the  issue  and  the  whole  propo- 
sition, compensated  by  doing  away  with  the  disadvantage  of  this 
additional  right  of  way.  It  seems  to  me  that  is  the  only  issue. 
Now,  the  gentlemen  ought  to  remember  that  the  regulation 
of  the  use  by  the  railroad  over  the  increased  and  widened  right 
of  way  will  be  exactly  the  same  as  it  is  now  over  its  present 
right  of  way.  The  railroad  is  there,  its  rights  are  subject  to 
public  recognition,  and  it  will  be  exactly  the  same  it  was  before. 
The  police  power  of  the  city  and  all  the  power  will  remain  the 
same  as  they  have  been. 

If  this  delay  occurs,  I  venture  to  say  that  the  gentlemen  who 
are  interested  in  this  grant  now,  by  the  time  they  get  through 
with  the  controversy  in  respect  to  the  matter,  will  be  so  much 
discouraged  that  it  will  not  now  be  carried  to  a  successful  con- 
clusion. It  is  only  a  week  or  two  ago  when  the  matter  came  be- 
fore a  body  at  which  I  was  present,  and  I  was  not  there  for 
the  purpose  of  considering  this,  but  it  happened  to  come  before 
that  body,  and  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  is  one  of  the  public- 
spirited  citizens  of  this  community,  and  who  has  devoted  days 
and  hours  and  weeks  to  this  project,  said,  **  Well,  we  have  worked 
on  this  matter  until  we  are  tired.  If  criticisms  are  going  to  be 
made,  and  these  small  considerations  are  to  be  taken  into  ac- 
count, we  will  have  to  give  the  matter  up,  and  we  won't  go  any 
further. ' ' 

I  am  not  talking  about  the  justification  of  giving  up  the  land, 
but  I  am  talking  about  human  nature.  There  will  never  be  an- 
other matter  as  big  as  this  project  that  will  come  up.  Now,  the 
disadvantage  is  the  danger  of  the  whole  project — the  disadvan- 
tage of  delay — being  lost.  Even  if  the  project  should  sustain  life, 
the  Field  Columbian  Museum  will  be  allowed  in  the  south  end  of 
the  city,  in  Jackson  Park,  because  the  contracts  which  were  made 
before  this  project  was  brought  up,  I  understand,  state  that  the 
commencement  of  the  construction  of  the  museum  must  be  imme- 
diate and  cannot  be  delayed,  and  cannot  await  the  outcome  of 
condemnation  proceedings,  which  will  delay  it  for  several  years. 
Mr.  Rosenthal:  Are  they  already  digging? 
Mr.  Redfield:  I  believe  active  operations  have  to  com- 
mence in  a  month  at  least,  Mr.  Standidge  so  informed  me. 


143 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    They  are  not  tied  down  to  this  contract. 

Mr.  Redfield  :  I  don 't  know.  I  am  simply  giving  the  best 
information  I  have. 

Mr.  Defrees:  I  was  not  endeavoring  to  give  a  legal  opin- 
ion. I  am  exactly  in  the  position  Mr.  Redfield  is  in.  A  member 
of  the  Park  Board,  in  speaking  of  this  matter  some  days  ago, 
said  that  if  there  was  delay  the  museum  would  have  to  be  con- 
structed in  Jackson  Park,  because  their  contracts  were  such  as 
obliged  them  to  commence  within  a  very  short  time  with  the 
construction. 

It  means  that.  It  also  means  that  the  Chicago  Plan  is  to 
be  delayed  indefinitely  with  respect  to  Twelfth  Street,  with  re- 
spect to  the  location  of  the  passenger  stations  at  Twelfth  Street. 

I  don't  believe  I  can  add  anything  to  what  I  have  already 
said.  I  simply  say  it  is  very  foolhardy  to  get  excited  about  what 
the  other  fellow  is  going  to  get.  The  question  is.  Are  you  pay- 
ing too  much  for  the  land  you  are  going  to  get?  Is  this  traffic 
that  is  going  to  be  along  that  shore  of  such  detriment  to  Chi- 
cago as  to  put  off  indefinitely  the  movement  for  the  construction 
of  this  great  breathing  spot  for  the  city?  The  regulation  will 
be  just  as  effective  over  that  right  of  way  as  it  is  over  the  pres- 
ent right  of  wa^. 

Aid.  Long:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  move  that  we  take  a  recess 
until  Monday  at  three  o  'clock. 

Aid.  Hey:    Second  the  motion. 

Tlie  Chairman:    We  will  resume  Monday  at  three  o'clock. 

Whereupon  an  adjournment  was  taken  until  Monday  after- 
noon, January  29,  1912,  at  three  o  'clock  p.  m. 


proceedings  of  the  committee  on  harbors,  wharves  and  bridges 
of  the  city  council  of  chicago. 

Monday,  January  29,  1912,  3  o'clock  p.  m. 


The  chairman.  Alderman  Littler,  called  the  meeting  to 
order. 

Secretary  Harrah  called  the  roll,  showing  the  following 
members  of  the  committee  present:  Aldermen  Littler,  Long, 
Nance,  Emerson,  Kunz,  Brennan,  Geiger,  Block  and  Forsberg. 
Others  present:  E.  B.  Butler,  Harry  Goldstine  (representing 
Chicago  Real  Estate  Board),  James  A.  Pugh,  Lessing  Rosen- 
thal, Frank  Comerford,  Henry  W.  Lee  and  George  C.  Sikes. 

The  Chairman:  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  continuation  of  the 
pubhc  hearings  started  the  first  part  of  last  week,  and  I  wish 


144 

to  announce  at  this  time  that  we  will  be  delighted  to  hear  from 
every  one  who  desires  to  be  heard  on  this  subject.  I  do  not 
want  to  place  any  restrictions  upon  anybody.  I  want  every  one 
to  get  an  opportunity  to  express  his  approval  or  disapproval  of 
this  ordinance.  That  is  the  only  way  the  committee  can  arrive 
at  a  proper  solution  of  the  points  in  the  ordinance,  and  I  hope 
that  those  who  do  speak  will  be  as  brief  as  possible  and  to  the 
point  and  not  take  up  any  more  time  than  necessary  and  still 
say  all  they  have  to  say  that  they  think  will  be  of  benefit  to 
the  committee.  Now  I  will  be  glad  to  listen  to  Mr.  Henry  W. 
Lee.  Mr.  Lee  represents  the  Calumet  Record,  a  newspaper  pub- 
lished in  South  Chicago. 

Mr.  Henry  W.  Lee:  And,  of  course,  representing  myself 
as  a  citizen  and  taxpayer.  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  the  last  time  I 
addressed  this  body  there  was  some  question  as  to  some  of  the 
statements  that  I  made,  so  I  have  taken  the  precaution  this  time 
to  fortify  myself  with  data  which  will  bear  me  out. 

In  the  first  place,  I  made  the  statement  that  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  had  given  decisions  to  the  effect  that  the 
Illinois  Central  had  no  riparian  rights  along  the  strip  in  ques- 
tion. 

As  I  imderstand  this  thing,  Mr.  Chairman,  we  are  in  the 
position  of  two  boys  who  were  trading  jack  knives.  One  boy 
says  his  jack  knife  is  as  good  as  the  other  one,  but  does  not 
show  it,  and  if  this  other  boy's  jack  knife  is  better  than  the  first 
mentioned  boy's,  the  first  boy  has  the  best  of  the  trade,  and 
consequently  in  this  thing,  if  in  the  opinion  of  this  committee  it 
can  be  shown  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  not  the  riparian 
rights  which  it  claims  to  have,  why  it  has  nothing  to  trade  and, 
therefore,  the  proposition  to  present  some  $20,000,000  worth  of 
land,  some  160  acres,  to  the  Illinois  Central  is  a  very  unfair  and 
unwise  thing  to  do.  If  we  give  them  $20,000,000  worth  on  one 
side  and  we  get  nothing  in  return  I  do  not  think  there  is  very 
much  argument  to  favor  that  proposition.  It  is  a  bad  transac- 
tion.   I  call  it  a  steal. 

The  decisions  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  I  have 
just  quoted  briefly — they  will  be  explained  more  fully  later  on 
by  Mr.  Comerford,  but  I  will  refer  to  one.  The  state- 
ment is  as  follows:  146  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  Re- 
ports, page  1098.  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany never  acquired  by  the  reclamation  from  the  wa- 
ters of  the  lake,  of  the  land  upon  which  the  tracks  are  laid  in 
the  City  of  Chicago  or  by  the  construction  of  its  road  and  work 
connected  therewith,  an  absolute  fee  in  the  tract  reclaimed,  nor 
a  consequent  right  to  dispose  of  the  same  to  other  parties  or  to 
use  it  for  any  other  purpose  than  the  construction  and  opera- 
tion of  a  railroad  thereon.    There  are  other  decisions  here  which 


145 

I  will  pass  to  the  secretary  for  his  information  and  for  the  in- 
formation of  this  committee,  and  Mr.  Comerford  will  discuss 
the  matter  later,  but  that  is  the  main  point. 

Now,  in  addition  to  this,  Mr.  Chairman,  under  this  roof  and 
available  for  inspection  to  any  citizen,  is  a  signed  statement  by 
the  Corporation  Counsel  of  the  City  of  Chicago — and  I  have  not 
heard  of  any  change  of  opinion  from  that  office  since — in  these 
words : 

"The  Illinois  Central  has  reclaimed  from  the  bed  of  Lake  Michigan 
along  and  east  of  the  whole  of  said  right  of  way  within  the  limits  above 
described  (Sixteenth  to  Fifty-first  Street)  numerous  large  parcels  of  land 
of  different  widths  entirely  without  warrant  or  authority  of  law,  and  the 
said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  having  no  right  to  make  the  same, 
the  title  to  all  of  said  land  which  has  been  so  reclaimed  is  in  fact  in  the 
State  of  Illinois  and  not  as  claimed  by  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany." 

That  is  the  end  of  that  quotation  and  that  is  the  statement 
made  by  the  Corporation  Counsel  of  the  City  of  Chicago.  I 
will  give  you  the  numbers  and  everything  else  later. 

Now  I  will  say  that  anybody  tbat  has  noticed  the  Illinois 
Central,  if  they  will  just  go  down  to  the  water's  edge  at  any 
place,  will  see  that  the  breakwater  is  built  out  into  the  water. 
In  other  words,  anybody  can  see  that  the  original  shore  must 
have  been  further  in  and,  therefore,  that  the  breakwater  and 
everything  this  side  of  it  must  have  been  reclaimed  from  Lake 
Michigan.  That  is  a  simple  and  common  fact  that  anybody 
knows,  and  bears  out  the  statement  made  by  the  Corporation 
Counsel  that  the  Illinois  Central  does  not  own  this  land  and  all 
of  it  belongs  now  to  the  State  of  Illinois. 

The  statement  goes  on  that  ''this  is  a  great  and  irreparable 
injury  to  the  State  and  that  the  occupation  is  a  purpresture,  the 
further  maintenance  of  which  should  be  enjoined  and  the  lands 
already  reclaimed  thereby  be  either  abated  or  seized." 

That  is  the  end  of  that  quotation. 

"Having  no  title  to  this  land,"  in  the  words  quoted,  "along 
and  east  of  the  whole  of  its  right  of  way  from  Fifty-first  to  Six- 
teenth Street,"  the  railroad,  of  course,  has  no  riparian  rights 
and,  therefore,  has  nothing  to  trade  and,  therefore,  this  is  an 
attempt  to  put  through  a  gigantic  steal  of  millions  of  dollars 
worth  of  property. 

Aid.  Long:    Are  you  still  quoting? 

Mr.  IjEE  :  This  is  my  personal  opinion  of  the  matter.  And 
all  this  high-brow  talk  about  the  Field  Museum  and  the  other 
parkway  and  the  widening  of  Twelfth  Street  and  the  Chicago 
Beautiful  is  merely  part  of  the  scenery  and  the  stage  setting  of 
this  interesting  plot  to  rob  the  people  of  their  land,  and  to  divert 
further  attention  from  the  real  issue,  and  present  this  public 


146 

land  to  the  railroad  who  give  nothing  in  return  but  who  only 
pretend  to  give  something  they  have  not  got. 

There  are  other  signatures  to  the  opinion  above  quoted. 
There  are  other  eminent  lawyers  who  have  signed  this  state- 
ment, lawyers  and  distinguished  publicists  whose  zeal  for  serv- 
ing the  people  against  grasping  corporations  is  well  known. 
The  statement  is  signed  by  Attorney  General  William  H.  Stead, 
State's  Attorney  John  E.  Wayman,  C.  P.  Gardner  and  Edward 
Brundage,  who  was  Corporation  Counsel  at  that  time,  I  believe, 
and  the  last  signer  to  the  document  which  states  that  the  rail- 
road has  no  right  to  this  lake  front  land  and,  of  course,  has  no 
riparian  rights,  and  who  asks  that  the  railroad  be  enjoined 
and  that  the  title  be  declared  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  the  last 
signer  is  no  other  than  our  friend.  Honorable  Theodore  K.  Long, 
and  Alderman  Long  is  an  expert  in  these  matters.  I  learned 
today  that  he  is  at  the  head  of  the  Lake  Shore  Eeclamation 
Commission.    He  agrees  with  the  Supreme  Court. 

This  case  we  are  talking  about  is  in  the  Superior  Court  of 
Cook  County,  General  Number  279409,  Term  Number  6601,  the 
People  v.  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  et  al.,  filed 
May  19,  1910,  and  in  connection  with  this  case  I  looked  over  the 
papers  and  I  find  that  it  has  been  postponed  from  time  to  time, 
about  a  dozen  times,  I  should  say,  and  the  last  date  that  I  no- 
ticed it  was  postponed  to,  for  the  correction  of  the  information 
or  whatever  the  legal  term  is,  was  the  1st  of  February,  1912.  I 
think  that  is  right,  although  I  will  not  swear  to  it,  and  the  South 
Park  Board  has  entered  its  appearance  in  this  case ;  the  attor- 
neys for  the  South  Park  Board  being  Tolman,  Redfield  &  Sex- 
ton, so  you  see  we  have  quite  a  nice  little  family  affair  of  it 
here.  Now  these  people  say  that  the  railroad  company  has  no 
rights  and  no  title  to  the  land  immediately  along  the  shore,  but 
the  Chipperfield  Report  goes  a  little  further.  The  Chipperfield 
Report  denies  the  ownership  of  the  existing  right  of  way,  most 
of  which  was  built  on  piles  out  in  the  lake,  as  shown  on  this  old 
map  here.  I  can  demonstrate  this  thing  exactly.  It  is  easier 
to  tell  a  story  with  pictures  than  by  telling  it  with  words,  and 
this  map,  which  is  a  map  of  1852,  shows  the  Illinois  Central 
built  very  largely  out  in  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  and,  of 
course,  that  water  that  is  a  part  of  the  land  that  they  now  should 
own  or  not,  that  is  a  matter  that  is  not  before  this  committee. 
What  this  committee  is  particularly  interested  in  is  what  the  city 
gets  in  return  for  what  it  gives,  and,  of  course,  if  the  Illinois 
Central  has  nothing  to  give,  the  city  gets  nothing,  and  the  Illinois 
Central  gets  nothing.  Presumably  that  makes  it  a  steal,  in  my 
opinion.  You  can  see  the  railroad  at  various  places  runs  right 
out  into  the  lake,  built  out  into  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan 
(referring  to  map),  and  the  Supreme  Court  has  made  several 


147 

decisions  touching  upon  this  point.  It  is  very  f ortunate^  we  do 
not  have  to  work  by  analogy  in  this  case.  We  have  opinions  of 
the  Supreme  Court  upon  all  questions.  We  do  not  have  to  talk 
about  what  a  railroad  did  in  Alabama  or  other  states.  We  have 
opinions  on  the  Illinois  Central  lake  shore  at  this  particular 
point.  We  have  opinions  of  all  these  people,  and  I  am  sure 
that  this  committee  will  not  care  to  present  to  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral 160  acres  of  land  in  return  for  rights  which,  in  the  opinion 
of  Alderman  Long,  do  not  exist.  That  is  all  I  have  to  say  at 
the  present  time,  Mr.  Chairman. 

The  Chairman:    Do  you  desire  to  reply.  Alderman  Long? 

Aid.  Long:  I  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  reply  at  this 
time.  I  do  not  care  to  be  drawn  into  a  controversy  as  to  a 
point  of  law  with  a  layman.  As  a  lawyer  I  object  to  the  gratui- 
tious  assumptions  of  the  speaker,  but  I  will  not  answer  Mr.  Lee's 
assertions  at  this  time.  He  does  not  make  any  argument  to  be 
answered.  All  lawyers  understand  that  a  mere  idle  assertion 
constitutes  no  argument.  At  the  proper  time  I  shall  have  some- 
thing to  say  to  this  committee,  but  not  at  this  time. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  I  wanted  to  know,  Mr.  Chairman,  whether 
this  case  was  docketed  for  trial. 

Aid.  Long:  It  is  on  the  trial  calendar,  and  there  are  six 
other  cases  in  which  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission 
is  interested — the  seven  cases  covering  all  of  the  lake  shore  from 
Grant  Park  to  Jackson  Park. 

(Mr.  Lee  then  filed  with  the  secretary  the  following  docu- 
ment, which  he  requested  be  put  in  the  record  of  the  proceed- 
ings:) 

"United  States  Supreme  Court  Reports  146-387.    /.  C.  R.  R.  v.  Illinois: 
The  legislature  of  Illinois  cannot  deprive  the  State  of  control  over  the 
bed  and  waters  of  the  harbor  of  Chicago  and  place  the  same  in  the  hands 
of  a  private  corporation. 

«        *        «        I*        *        :ii        « 

176-622: 

Submerged  lands  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  were  not  Included 
in  the  grant  to  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  Co.  by  its  charter  authorizing  it  to  enter 
upon  and  use  'all  lands,  streams  and  material  of  every  kind,'  and  declar- 
ing that  'all  such  lands,  waters,  materials  and  privileges  belonging  to  the 
State  are  hereby  granted  to  said  corporation  for  said  purposes.' 

It  may  be  added  here  by  way  of  additional  explanation  that  the  fol- 
lowing sentence  in  the  charter  is  as  follows:  'Provided  that  nothing  in 
this  section  contained  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  autMorize  the  said  cor- 
poration to  interrupt  the  navigation  of  said  streams'  (assuming  that  Lake 
Michigan  is  a  stream  and  that  the  State  intended  to  allow  the  I.  C.  to  use 
Its  present  right  of  way,  which  is  a  matter  of  grave  doubt). 
******* 

146-1018: 

There  can  be  no  Irreparable  contract  In  a  conveyance  of  property  by  a 
grantor  in  disregard  of  a  public  trust,  under  which  he  was  found  to  hold 
and  manage  it. 


148 

The  I.  C.  Ry.  Co.  never  acquired  by  the  reclamation  from  the  waters 
of  the  lalie,  of  the  land  upon  which  its  tracks  are  laid  in  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago, or  by  the  construction  of  its  road  and  works  connected  therewith,  an 
absolute  fee  in  the  tract  reclaimed,  nor  a  consequent  right  to  dispose  of 
the  same  to  other  parties  or  to  use  it  for  any  other  purpose  than  the  con- 
struction and  the  operation  of  a  railroad  thereon." 

Mr.  Frank  Comeeford:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  do  not  pretend 
to  be  a  distinguislied  lawyer;  I  am  not  a  member  of  the  City 
Council.  I  have  examined  the  files  and  I  presume  some  one  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  the  State  and  Supreme  Courts  of  the  State 
of  Illinois  is  within  the  purview  of  the  general  definition  of  a 
member  of  the  Bar,  and  a  lawyer.  There  is  such  an  information 
pending  and  it  is  signed — I  have  a  copy  of  it  here — "In  the  Su- 
perior Court  of  Cook  County"  and  is  waiting  to  be  adjudicated, 
and  I  make  this  statement  without  making  any  accusation  con- 
cerning Mr.  Long  or  Mr.  William  H.  Stead  or  John  E.  Wayman, 
the  States  Attorney  of  Cook  County,  but  one  of  two  things  is 
sure,  that  eitlier  at  the  time  this  opinion  was  filed  the  gentle- 
men representing  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois  were  misin- 
formed and  stated  to  the  court  facts 

Aid.  Long  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  do  not  want  to  interrupt  Mr. 
Comerford,  but  if  Mr.  Comerford  has  any  argument,  any  good 
argument,  legal  or  otherwise,  to  present  to  this  committee,  we 
should  like  to  hear  it.  There  is  no  necessity  of  him  coming  in 
to  us  with  statements  in  regard  to  Mr.  Brundage — I  think  it 
might  be  just  as  well  to  eliminate  personalities.  Mr.  Lee  un- 
fortunately is  so  constituted  that  he  cannot  eliminate  personali- 
ties. I  take  it  that  Mr.  Comerford  is  a  gentleman,  a  scholar 
and  a  lawyer,  and  I  would  ask  him  to  direct  his  attention  to  the 
issues  before  this  committee. 

Mr.  Comerford:  If  the  chairman  will  permit  me  to  over- 
look the  sarcasm  of  the  scholar  and  gentleman  and  lawyer,  I 
will 

Aid.  Long  :  No  sarcasm  was  intended.  I  mean  just  what  I 
say,  you  are  an  accomplished  lawj^er.    I  am  saying  it  seriously. 

Mr.  Comerford  :  I  am  not  characterizing  the  Attorney  Gen- 
eral; I  am  not  characterizing  Mr.  Sexton;  I  am  not  character- 
izing Mr.  Long.  If  I  may  have  the  privilege  of  addressing  this 
committee,  I  offer  as  pertinent  the  preliminary  remarks  that  I 
have  just  made,  not  as  characterizing  any  one,  but  merely  as 
facts  that  should  be  before  this  body  sitting  in  its  legislative 
committee  to  determine  the  merits  of  the  passage  of  this  ordi- 
nance at  this  time.  I  do  not  mean  to  be  offensive  to  Alderman 
Long.  I  have  not  said  that  I  thought  Alderman  Long  is  any- 
thing but  a  gentleman;  I  have  not  questioned  his  motives.  I 
do  not  question  his  motives,  but  do  say,  though,  that  when  a 
petition  is  filed  in  court  those  who  sign  that  petition  take  the 
responsibility  for  the  petition.     If  it  should  develop  that  sub- 


I 


149 

sequently  to  the  filing  of  that  petition  the  attorneys  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  facts  upon  which  they  predicated  the  peti- 
tion were  not  correctly  given,  of  course,  they  may  withdraw  or 
may  reform  the  document  presented  to  the  court,  but  while  this 
document  is  in  court,  and  the  court  in  the  name  of  the  People 
of  the  State  of  Illinois  is  attempting  to  adjudicate  the  issues 
raised  in  this  document,  then  I  contend  that  the  City  Council 
should  know  that  fact  and  should  take  it  into  consideration  in 
determining  its  conduct  at  this  time,  so  that  we  will  not  have 
any  interference,  as  it  were,  between  the  legislative  and  the  judi- 
cial branch  of  the  government. 

If  I  may  be  permitted,  while  I  am  on  the  floor,  to  attempt  to 
more  correctly  and  probably  more  intelligently  express  what  I 
had  in  mind  than  I  was  able  to  the  other  day  in  view  of  the 
shortness  of  notice  and  in  view  of  the  further  fact  that  I  had 
other  work  awaiting  me — I  want,  by  way  of  recapitulation,  to 
urge  upon  this  committee  the  consideration  of  some  proposi- 
tions that  I  believe  are  sound  both  in  morals  and  in  law.  I 
want  to  ask  the  chairman  of  this  committee  respectfully  and 
this  committee,  if  they  feel  the  propositions  I  now  announce 
have  any  merit  to  them,  any  weight  in  law,  that  they  will  pre- 
sent those  propositions  in  concrete  form,  or  I  am  willing  for 
the  committee  and  those  who  are  in  favor  of  this  ordinance  to 
give  concrete  answers,  submit  replies  to  these  questions.  First, 
Mr.  Defrees  said  the  other  day  that  the  City  of  Chicago  was  not 
concerned  in  the  kind  of  bargain  that  was  made  as  long  as  the 
city  got  something.  Now  that  is  entirely  foreign  to  all  human 
experience  and  to  all  business  experience.  The  City  of  Chicago 
in  its  Council,  as  the  trustees  of  the  interests  of  the  people  of 
the  City  of  Chicago,  is  interested  in  a  moral  bargain,  and  by 
moral  bargain  I  mean  that  it  is  a  duty  charged  under  the  law, 
fixed  by  the  highest  laws  of  morality — for  this  Council  to  get 
as  trustees  of  the  people's  rights— to  see  that  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago does  not  part  with  things  of  valuable  consideration  unless 
the  City  of  Chicago  gets  an  approximate  return  in  the  way  of 
value  from  the  Illinois  Central.  I  submit  that  as  a  fundamental 
principle,  not  that  you  have  the  legal  right,  but  it  is  your  duty 
to  concern  yourselves  with  whether  or  not  the  Illinois  Central 
is  giving  to  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  people  of  the  State  of 
lUmois  an  approximate  and  adequate  consideration  for  the  val- 
uable consideration  it  receives.  Now  with  that  in  mind  I  want, 
to  ask  one  question.  I  want  to  ask  it  in  as  definite  language  as 
I  can:  Has  any  attorney  representing  the  City  of  Chicago 
made  an  examination  of  the  abstract  of  title  to  the  proposed 
property  that  is  the  subject  matter  of  discussion  before  your 
honorable  body?  If  they  have,  then  I  insist  that  the  public  not 
only  this  committee,  are  entitled  to  that  information,  with  the 


150 

signature  of  the  proper  law  officer  of  the  City  of  Chicago  at- 
tested, as  being  the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel  of  the 
City  of  Chicago.  If  they  have  any  such  opinion,  I  want  to  ask 
some  of  the  gentlemen  who  represent  considerable  wealth  in 
this  community  and  have  a  deserved  prominence  as  prominent 
citizens,  whether  or  not  they  ever  bought  a  piece  of  property 
in  which,  or  for  which,  they  parted  with  a  valuable  considera- 
tion, that  they  did  not  first  have  an  examination  of  the  title  to 
tbe  property  made?  Is  there  a  case  in  history,  of  the  daily 
dealings  between  men,  where  an  individual  ever  parted  with  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  or  with  a  paltry  few  thousands  of  dollars,  be- 
fore he  first  had  an  opinion  of  his  lawyer  certifying  that  the 
title  was  in  the  vendor,  and  a  lawyer  that  gave  an  opinion  with- 
out a  proper  examination  of  the  title,  if  it  were  subsequently 
found  that  the  vendor  did  not  have  a  title  to  it,  might  be  subject 
to  disbarment  or  at  least  to  a  suit  for  the  recover>^  of  the  dam- 
age that  his  client  had  sustained?  I  want,  therefore,  to  know, 
has  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  people  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  an  opinion  as  to  the 
title  of  this  property,  and  if  they  have,  where  is  that  opinion, 
and  if  they  have  not,  I  want  some  one  to  assume  responsibility 
for  the  consummation  of  this  transaction  without  the  customary 
and  usual  opinion  of  title? 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  want  to  subdivide  without  a  knowledge  of 
the  title — and  I  do  not  know  what  the  title  is,  and  this_  does  not 
argue  against  the  man  who  opposes  this  ordinance.  It  is  not  for 
me  to  show  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  any  title;  it  is  for  those 
who  favor  this  ordinance  to  show  that  the  Illinois  Central  has 
title.  The  burden  of  proof  must  be  on  the  people  accepting 
the  money. 

This  land  logically  divides  itself,  in  point  of  legal  applica- 
tion, into  three  kinds  of  land,  and  I  want  to  try  to  be  as  definite 
and  as  brief  and  as  succinct,  in  making  my  subdivisions,  as  pos- 
sible, so  as  to  carry  to  the  lay  members  of  this  committee,  at 
least,  the  thought  in  my  mind.  First,  under  Section  3  of  the 
charter  of  so-called  grant  to  the  Illinois  Central,  the  Illinois 
Central  had  a  certain  right  of  way.  Now  when  they  came  into 
the  City  of  Chicago  and  built  that  right  of  way  on  what  was 
at  that  time,  1852,  land  or  ground  above  the  water,  they  had  a 
kind  of  title  to  that  land.  I  invite  your  attention  to  that  kind 
of  land,  namely,  land  that,  under  the  grant  the  Illinois  Central 
built  its  right  of  way  on,  was  not  under  water.  Is  there  any 
question  here  that  to  such  land  the  Illinois  Central  had  nothing 
but  the  right  of  licensee?  If  there  is,  then  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  has  recently  held  to  the  contrary  unknown  to  some  of 
us.    My  proposition  is,  as  an  incontrovertible  legal  fact,  that 


151 

to  such  land  as  was  land  at  the  time  they  built  the  railroad,  they 
merely  had  the  right  of  licensee,  and  the  law  is  plain  and  sim- 
ple, not  only  in  the  few  adjudicated  cases  that  have  been  consid- 
ered in  this  particular  matter,  but  during  its  entire  history,  that 
two  things  are  absolutely  indispensable  to  a  riparian  right :  one 
is  the  best  kind  of  title*  known  to  the  law,  namely,  fee  simple 
title,  and,  second,  contact  with  the  water.  Now,  you  see,  if  we 
had  an  opinion  from  the  Corporation  Counsel's  office  showing 
an  examination  of  the  various  abstracts,  we  could  at  once  say 
ihat  so  much  of  this  land  was  land  that  in  1852  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral took  as  a  right  of  way,  and  it  was  not  submerged  land,  and 
to  that  land  legally  we  could  say,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
courts  held  it  took  the  land  in  the  way  of  a  licensee,  it  had  no 
riparian  right. 

Now  another  division  of  the  land:  such  land  as  was  sub- 
merged at  the  time  the  Illinois  Central  built  its  right  of  way. 
It  is  my  contention  that  submerged  lands  belong  to  the  State, 
that  the  right  of  the  State  to  part  with  submerged  land  I  deny, 
and  that  the  grant  in  Section  3  of  its  charter  to  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral is  a  limitation  and  cannot  be  construed  to  be  a  grant  to  the 
Illinois  Central  of  submerged  land.  It,  therefore,  follows,  if  I 
am  correct,  that  such  land  as  was  built  on,  submerged  land  or 
land  under  water,  by  the  Illinois  Central  Company  for  its  right 
of  way — it  not  only  has  no  riparian  right  to  that  land,  but  the 
judgment  of  the  Chipperfield  Report  is  sustained  by  common 
sense  and  good  law.    It  is  a  trespasser  upon  that  land. 

It  remains  to  consider  this  one  other  kind  of  land,  where 
it  purchased  the  fee.  I  admit  if  they  purchased  the  fee  of  the 
land,  and  that  land  had  contact  with  the  water  they  would,  as 
Mr.  Rosenthal  pointed  out  the  other  day,  have  a  right  to  the 
natural  accretions  and  easement  to  the  point  of  navigation, 
either  by  way  of  wharves  or  piers,  or  also  sending  something 
out  to  the  point  of  navigation  by  excavation  process,  which 
would  be  the  building  of  a  harbor  to  bring  that  navigation  to 
the  land.  To  how  much  of  this  strip  of  land  does  the  Illinois 
Central  own  the  fee?  Who  will  tell  us,  not  in  idle  words,  but 
in  such  a  way  that  official  responsibility  would  go  with  the  state- 
ment, so  that  we  will  be  properly  and  authoritatively  advised? 
Even  that  land  that  it  has  riparian  rights  to,  or  had  at  one  time, 
is  the  subject  of  further  inquiry,  because  I  contend,  and  this  is 
sound  morals  and  good  law,  that  if  my  wrongful  act  is  respon- 
sible for  the  loss  of  one  of  my  rights,  I  cannot  complain  if  I 
have  surrendered  something,  forfeited  something,  or  lost  some- 
thing because  of  my  own  wrongful  act.  So  if  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral, having  riparian  rights  to  some  of  this  property,  filled  in 
the  land  immediately  in  front  of  it,  which  is  not  the  exercise 
of  a  riparian  right,  and  raised  it  to  the  surface,  the  title  to 


152 

that  property  never  changed  by  the  trespass  of  the  Illinois 
Central,  but  the  title  being  in  the  State  as  submerged  land,  it 
would  now  be  in  the  State  as  actual  land  above  the  water.  If 
the  Illinois  Central,  by  that  aggression  and  that  wrongful  act 
and  that  trespass,  had  cut  off  its  contact  with  the  water,  I  assert 
it  is  better  than  good  law,  it  is  good  morals,  to  conclude  that 
the  lUinois  Central  forfeited  its  riparian  rights  to  that  land. 

Gentlemen,  those  are  propositions  that  should  be  answered 
and  should  be  answered  with  definiteness,  for  I  contend  it  is, 
even  from  a  financial  point  of  view,  no  small  proposition  to 
part  with  the  amount  of  land  that  is  to  be  parted  with  here.  In 
this  particular  I  want  to  invite  your  attention  to  a  matter  that 
I  think — and  I  do  not  mean  by  the  use  of  the  pronoun,  I,  that  my 
opinions  are  worthy  of  any  great  consideration.  I  believe  that 
if  my  opinions  are  true  and,  submitted  to  the  common  test  to 
which  men  submit  the  truth,  are  not  found  to  be  wanting,  they 
are  worthy  of  the  same  consideration  from  this  committee  and 
this  Council  as  though  they  had  come  from  one  of  great  merit 
or  from  one  of  larger  financial  possessions.  The  test  here  is  the 
merit  of  argument,  not  the  standing  of  the  men  who  make  the 
argument,  and  I  do  not  mean  to  make  that  statement  with  any 
reflection  on  the  gentlemen  who  may  be  in  favor  of  this,  but  the 
issue  I  refer  to  is  the  issue  that  is  purely  moral  in  this  matter. 
For  my  own  self,  as  a  simple  unostentatious  citizen  of  this  city, 
I  had  the  hardest  blow  to  my  patriotism  and  love  of  my  State 
dealt  me  at  the  last  session  of  this  committee  that  I  have  ever 
experienced  in  the  thirty-five  years  of  my  life.  I  was  aston- 
ished, certainly  surprised  and  startled,  to  find  men  who  should 
be  pioneers  in  support  of  the  freedom  of  our  public  institutions 
from  corruption,  confessing  on  the  floor  of  this  room  to  this 
body  that  when  the  citizens  knocked  at  the  doors  at  Springfield 
and  demanded  only  fair  legislation,  that  this  committee  took 
something  less,  and  the  power  of  the  Illinois  Central  lobby  domi- 
nated the  body  politics  in  legislative  character  in  the  State  of 
Illinois.  I  am  unwilling  to  allow,  sir,  that  a  City  Beautiful  can 
ever  be  a  beautiful  city  if  you  must  get  it  at  the  price  of  sacri- 
ficing and  abandoning  your  belief  in  the  integrity  of  the  people 
and  their  right  to  demand  their  legislation  from  their  public 
servants.  I  believe  it  is  more  vital  at  this  point  that  the  Illi- 
nois Central  should  not  dominate  the  Legislature  of  our  State 
than  that  we  should  build  a  dozen  Field  Museums  on  the  lake 
front.  The  concession  you  have  made  as  prominent  men,  if 
consummated  and  carried  out  by  this  Council,  is  a  splendid  ex- 
ample to  the  young  men  who  are  growing  up — the  idea  that  we 
should  accept  this  bargain,  a  bargain  admittedly  the  price  of 
the  corrupt  influence  of  one  of  the  parties  to  the  contract,  in 
controlling  the  Legislature  of  our  State.    When  I  said  the  other 


153 

day— Mr.  Butler,  I  do  not  know  you  and  your  smiles  will  not 
affect  me  one  way  or  the  other,  or  sarcasm  either — — 

Mr.  Butler:     I  am  not  smiling,  sir.     I    am   too    sad   to 
smile,  sir. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD :  I  want  to  tell  you  that  I  can  agree  with 
you  in  your  sadness.  Your  confession  was  the  confession  of 
civic  im'potency  as  a  citizen — to  say  that  you  came  back  from 
Springfield,  Illinois,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Hull's  question,  to  say  that 
Illinois  would  not  respond  in  its  legislative  department  to  an 
honest,  simple  demand  to  give  the  South  Park  Board  the  right 
of  condemnation  in  this  matter,  and  then  you  said  that  you 
did  not  charge  the  members  of  the  Legislature  with  being  dis- 
honest, but  the  influence  of  the  Illinois  Central  might  have  had 
something  to  do  with  it.  There  are  only  two  kinds  of  men,  one 
kind  is  honest  and  the  other  is  dishonest,  and  the  man  who  in 
Springfield,  Illinois,  would  refuse  to  give  the  Park  Board  the 
right  of  condemnation,  and  the  man  who  voted  for  this  statute, 
denying  the  right  to  the  Park  Board  of  condemnation,  is  either  a 
knave  or  a  fool,  and  the  ultimate  effect  written  in  the  law  is 
the  answer  of  his  indictment;  he  cannot  avoid  it.  Every  rail- 
road company  has  the  right  of  condemnation  except  in  regard 
to  property  owned  by  people  who  are  unknown,  but  where  it 
was  known  by  whom  the  property  was  owned,  the  Park  Board 
was  without  the  power  of  condemnation.  What  does  it  mean, 
gentlemen?  It  simply  means  this,  that  the  Illinois  Central  is 
saved  the  need  of  going  into  court  and  having  the  value  of  its 
alleged  claims  passed  upon. 

I  want  to  invite  your  attention  to  a  matter,  that  while  not 
as  germane  as  it  might  be,  indicates  that  the  conscience  of  the 
Legislature  in  some  of  its  sober  moments  may  be  worthy  of 
consideration.  I  want  to  invite  your  attention  to  the  Session 
Laws  of  the  last  General  Assembly,  a  bill  passed  and  approved 
June  10,  1911,  which  refers  to  one  department  of  this  subject 
matter,  and  that  is  insofar  as  ordinances  of  the  City  Council 
of  the  City  of  Chicago  might  affect  wharves  and  harbors.  Mind 
you,  gentlemen,  this  is  the  public  policy  of  the  Legislature  of 
Illinois  after  the  Chipperfield  Report  was  passed.  It  says  in 
Section  7  of  the  Session  Laws : 

"If  in  the  construction  of  any  harbor,  wharf,  canal,  dock,  pier,  slip,  levee 
or  other  harbor  facility  or  improvement  mentioned  in  this  Act,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  affect  any  of  the  rights  of  riparian  owners  along  any  public 
waters,  or  to  take  any  property  belonging  thereto,  such  city  shall  have  the 
right  to  acquire  same  by  condemnation,  but  nothing  in  this  Act  shall  give 
any  such  city  the  right  to  give  compensation  to  any  alleged  riparian  owner 
who  is  not  in  fact  the  owner  of  said  land  or  who  has  unlawfully  acquired 
title  thereto  by  possession  or  by  making  or  filling  the  same,  and  such  city 
shall  make  a  careful  scrutiny  of  the  title  of  each  and  every  person  so  claim- 
ing compensation,  to  the  end  that  no  person  shall  receive  compensation  for 
lands  or  rights  which  already  belong  to  the  State  of  Illinois." 


154 

Now,  gentlemen,  the  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  the 
other  day,  replying  by  characterization  to  some  of  the  gentle- 
men who*  had  raised  an  argument  suggesting  that  there  was  an 
analogy  between  this  fight  and  the  fight  involving  the  street 
car  system  of  Chicago  under  the  Allen  law,  said  that  these  men, 
some  of  them,  had  not  been  in  that  fight.  Perforce  of  youth  and 
lack  of  ability,  I  will  say,  that  my  part  in  that  fight  was  only 
the  part  of  a  young  man,  but  I  spoke  on  nearly  every  platform  in 
Chicago  for  a  period  of  six  j^ears,  and  to  Mr.  Harrison  is  du6 
every  credit  for  his  work  in  the  people's  behalf.  I  want  to 
suggest  that  the  same  moral  principle  is  involved  in  this  con- 
troversy that  was  in  that  one.  In  other  words,  Mayor  Harri- 
son contended :  ' '  We  will  not  settle  the  street  car  question  un- 
til we  can  settle  it  right;  repeal  the  Allen  law  because  if  the 
grant  be  taken  with  corruption  it  will  taint  every  subsequent 
act,  it  matters  not  how  moral  that  act  may  be,"  and  we  say  to 
you  now  that  in  view  of  the  joker  legislation  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral conferring  the  right  of  condemnation,  in  view  of  the  ab- 
sence of  an  opinion  of  title,  in  view  of  the  other  facts  that  have 
been  raised  here,  such  as  the  gift  of  land  that  is  approximately 
worth  $20,000,000 — I  would  not  quibble  about  that — I  think  a 
man  that  steals  $1,000,000  is  a  pretty  good  thief,  and  I  think 
that  a  railroad  company  that  takes  $1,000,000  worth  of  prop- 
erty, not  because  you  want  to  give  it  to  them,  gentlemen,  not 
because  the  Park  Board  wants  to  give  it  to  them,  but  why? 
Because  they  have  controlled  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  and  have  denied  the  Park  Board  the  right  to  bring  them 
into  court,  and  then  under  our  system  of  law  determine  what 
the  equitable  value  of  the  land  is. 

I  want  to  say,  in  conclusion,  gentlemen,  that  I  believe  in  a 
City  Beautiful;  that  I  believe  in  a  park  system;  that  I  believe 
in  a  great  endowment  of  the  culture  of  the  present  and  of  the 
future  like  a  Field  Museum,  and  I  believe  in  the  disinterested- 
ness and  the  perfect  honesty  of  the  men  who  favor  this.  I  do 
not  believe  that  a  dishonest  dollar  has  passed  or  will  pass,  but  I 
believe,  gentlemen,  that  you  have  a  right  today  to  do  the  very 
thing  you  started  out  to  do  here  in  less  time,  by  going  to  the 
Legislature  and  demanding  by  a  special  session,  condemnation, 
for  let  me  tell  you  that  the  passage  of  this  ordinance  by  this 
Council  does  not  mean  that  the  improvement  is  going  through. 
Wlien  this  contract  comes  up  for  confirmation  in  the  courts,  not 
one  citizen,  but  dozens  of  citizens  will  file  their  appearance  and 
force  the  Illinois  Central  to  come  forward  and  ascertain  in  a 
court  of  law  what  its  alleged  riparian  rights  consist  of.  Think 
of  the  mocking  situation  that  this  Council  might  be  placed  in  if, 
after  thrashing  this  out  here  in  view  of  the  questions  raised,  and 
without  an  opinion  from  the  Law  Department,  in  the  face  of  the 


155 

Chipperfield  Eeport,  in  the  face  of  pending  proceedings  started 
by  the  Attorney  General  of  .your  State,  you  should  consent  to 
this  bargain  and  the  courts  should  subsequently  hold  that  the 
riparian  rights  were  purely  fiction  and  the  bargain  was  un- 
moral and  against  public  policy.  That  is  the  position  you  are 
asked  to  be  put  in.  Gentlemen,  I  insist  that  your  position  as 
conservators  of  the  public  interests  will  not  allow  you  to  make 
any  such  decision,  at  least  in  the  dark,  and  I  insist  further  that 
this  issue  should  be  broadened  in  the  way  that  every  man  who 
is  a  part  of  this  committee  should  interest  himself  to  know  all 
the  facts  connected  with  it.  If  Mr.  Redfield  has  written  an  opin- 
ion as  to  this  title,  and  I  noticed  when  I  left  the  hall  the  other 
day  that  Mr.  Redfield  said  he  had  examined  the  title,  I  would 
like  to  see  it,  and  when  I  say  that,  gentlemen,  I  do  not  mean  to 
reflect  upon  the  integrity  or  the  character  of  Mr.  Bedfield.  To 
ask  a  question  surely  does  not  imply  the  guilt  of  the  man  you 
question. 

Think  of  a  project  over  there  on  the  lake  front  with  fifty  or 
more  tracks,  with  more  engines  spitting  grime  and  fume,  a  med- 
ley of  noises,  and  your  lake  front  park  on  the  other  side,  and 
you  tell  us  that  the  front  yard  of  Chicago  is  to  be  beautified  for 
the  benefit  of  commerce.  Who  would  venture  across  the  viaduct 
at  night  except  with  an  appointed  guard  of  city  aldermen  or 
city  police?  Who  would  venture  to  send  their  children  over 
there  to  enjoy  the  lake  front?  We  must,  if  we  see  it  at  all,  see 
it  through  Illinois  Central  smoke  and  Illinois  Central  grime. 
In  this  ordinance  they  said  that  some  day,  some  day,  maybe 
some  day,  when  we  do  decide  to  electrify,  you  will  build  hoods, 
like  eye  blinders  for  the  horses,  running  fifty  feet  high  on  each 
side  so  that  the  public  will  not  see  the  smoke.  When  they  do 
electrify  we  will  not  need  the  blinders,  but  until  they  do  electrify 
we  can  have  the  blinders.  Manifestly  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company  in  its  generosity  to  the  citizens  of  Chicago  has 
awakened  a  civic  impulse  that  iDecomes  contagious  in  the  minds 
of  every  man  who  is  fond  of  a  City  Beautiful. 

Gentlemen,  I  thank  you  for  your  consideration. 

Mr.  Edwaed  B.  Butler:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  want  to  say  a 
word  in  answer  to  Mr.  Comerford.  I  am  not  rising  here  to  de- 
fend myself  or  my  act,  but  I  want  to  say  in  defense  of  the  Leg- 
islature of  Illinois  that  in  my  visits  to  Springfield  I  found  no 
man  there  whose  motives  I  could  question.  I  found  no  lobby  of 
the  Illinois  Central  or  any  other  road.  I  will  just  say  I  am  not 
going  to  answer  the  insinuations  of  this  gentleman  who  has  pre- 
ceded me. 

The  Chairman:    Have  you  anything  to  say  on  the  subject? 

Mr.  Butler:  I  have  something  to  say.  Gentlemen  of  the 
committee,  I  have  taken  some  of  your  time  before,  and  I  want 


156 

five  minutes  now  if  I  may  have  it,  to  read  something  which  I 
have  prepared.  I  promise  not  to  take  as  much  time  as  the  gen- 
tleman who  preceded  me,  but  I  hope  you  will  understand  me. 

(Mr.  Butler  then  addressed  the  committee  as  follows:) 

Have  you  ever  been  on  Michigan  Avenue  opposite  the  Lo- 
gan Monument  on  a  hot  summer's  night?  If  so,  you  have  seen 
the  monument  hill  almost  entirely  covered  by  the  people  from 
the  tenement  districts,  who  had  come  out  there  with  their  chil- 
dren, to  get  a  breath  of  fresh  air. 

Think,  if  you  will,  what  the  proposed  island  park  will  mean 
to  such  people.  How  many  lives  will  it  save  in  a  single  sum- 
mer and  how  many  summers  can  we  afford  to  wait?  How  much 
are  those  lives  worth? 

If  it  is  thought  that  Chicago  is  going  to  decide  whether  or 
not  a  good  trade  has  been  made  between  the  South  Park  Board 
and  the  Illinois  Central  Railway  Company  on  a  dollars  and  cents 
basis,  then  we  should  be  willing  to  put  against  those  figures  the 
value  of  the  lives  which  are  to  be  saved  by  furnishing  two  thou- 
sand acres  of  park  on  a  great  inland  sea  where  men  and  women 
m^ay  go  for  a  day's  outing;  where  children  may  play  and  where 
infants  may  breathe  health  and  strength. 

I  cannot  believe  that  the  few  gentlemen  who  are  opposing 
this  plan  have  thought  the  thing  through  to  a  conclusion.  I 
could  understand  it  better  if  they  offered  a  substitute  proposi- 
tion for  giving  back  the  lake  shore  to  the  people.  Unfortunately, 
however,  if  I  understand  them  right,  they  insist  that  because 
the  trade  has  not  been  made  just  as  they  would  have  made  it, 
there  must  be  no  trade  at  all,  and  they  are  willing  that  the  peo- 
ple should  wait  from  six  to  sixteen  years  before  securing  the 
right  to  build  the  parkways — and  after  that,  after  the  location 
of  the  Field  Museum  at  a  central  point  has  been  lost  to  the 
city  forever. 

Those  of  us  who  are  old  enough  to  remember  the  World ^s 
Columbian  Exposition — the  beautiful  White  City — can  never 
forget  the  thrill  which  we  experienced  in  looking  out  upon  the 
Court  of  Honor.  If  the  present  plan  be  carried  out,  one  stand- 
ing in  Grant  Park  looking  south  will  see  as  the  central  feature, 
the  Field  Museum,  which,  as  generally  conceded  by  all  archi- 
tects, will  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  in  the  world. 
On  a  line  with  the  museum  and  between  Michigan  Avenue  and 
the  tracks  will  be  the  Illinois  Central  Station,  a  monumental 
structure  built  to  harmonize  with  the  museum.  On  the  same 
line  will  be  artistic  viaducts,  one  crossing  the  tracks  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central;  the  other  crossing  the  entrance  to  the  lagoon.  At 
the  end  of  this  Twelfth  Street  boulevard  will  be  a  round  point 
pier. 

When  Grant  Park  has  been  laid  out  and  beautified,  will  not 


157 

the  view  to  the  south  be  upon  a  court  of  honor — and  one  that 
shall  exist  for  all  time  1 

Of  equal  beauty  and  of  great  utility  will  be  the  parkways 
connecting  Grant  Park  and  Jackson  Park.  Under  the  agree- 
ment made  between  the  Illinois  Central  Railway  Company  and 
the  South  Park  Board  it  will  be  possible  for  the  commissioners 
to  carry  out  these  park  improvements  practically  as  shown  in 
Mr.  Burnham's  Chicago  Plan.  When  this  is  done,  the  railroad 
will  run  just  west  of  a  park  strip  which  will  be  made  by  filling 
in  the  lake,  this  park  varying  in  width  from  400  to  700  feet. 

In  addition  to  this  park  strip,  and  out  in  the  lake  from  300 
to  600  feet,  an  island  park  will  be  built  extending  from  Twelfth 
Street  to  Jackson  Park.  This  island  will  be  nearly  five  miles 
long  and  will  average  one-half  mile  in  width.  On  it  will  be  great 
meadows  and  recreation  places.  Between  the  outer  and  shore 
parks  will  be  formed  a  lagoon  of  quiet  water.  The  two  parks 
mil  be  connected  by  artistic  bridges  at  every  half  mile,  and  the 
shores  will  be  made  beautiful  with  trees,  shrubbery  and  plants. 
On  the  lake  side  of  the  island  will  be  recreation  piers  and  bath- 
ing beaches. 

What  is  not  generally  known  is  that  the  shore  at  Twelfth 
Street  is  within  one  mile  of  the  most  congested  district  of  the 
West  Side;  therefore  as  accessible  to  the  West  Side  as  to  the 
South,  especially  when  the  Twelfth  Street  boulevard  has  be- 
come a  fact.  In  short,  the  lake  shore  will  be  given  back  to  the 
people. 

The  artistic  value  of  the  lagoon  and  the  practical  uses  to 
which  it  will  be  put  must  be  apparent  to  all.  Imagine  the  pic- 
ture that  will  be  presented  when  this  sheet  of  water  is  alive  with 
pleasure  boats  or  when  upon  occasions  the  banks  are  filled  with 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  who  have  come  to  witness  a 
rowing  regatta. 

Chicago  is  endowed  with  two  great  natural  advantages,  a 
good  summer  climate  and  a  great  inland  sea.  With  a  mere 
fraction  of  the  amount  of  money  that  has  been  expended  in  the 
improvement  of  any  of  the  great  European  centers,  we  can  and 
will  make  of  Chicago  the  most  inviting  of  all  American  cities. 
AVith  a  comparatively  small  outlay,  Chicago  can  be  made  a 
delightful  place  of  residence  and  at  the  same  time  be  so  attract- 
ive and  inviting  that  it  will  become  the  Mecca  of  the  traveling 
public. 

This  is  the  people's  cause;  it  is  for  the  poorest  of  the  poor 
and  the  richest  of  the  rich.  When  once  the  people  understand 
it  fully,  they  will  not  permit  this  great  opportunity  to  be  lost. 

Mr.  O'Neil  (representing  the  Chicago  Federation  of  La- 
ber) :  Mr.  Chairman,  are  you  going  to  follow  along  the  list  of 
speakers  ? 


158 

The  Chairman  :  I  have  a  new  list.  I  will  give  you  an  op- 
portunity to  be  heard.    There  are  two  speakers  ahead  of  you. 

Mr.  0  'Neil  :  My  reason  for  rising  is  to  say  that  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor  would  like  to 
bo  heard. 

The  Chairman  :  If  you  will  present  his  card,  we  shall  give 
him  an  opx)ortunity  to  be  heard. 

Aid.  Gteiger:  I  think  we  are  treating  some  of  the  gentle- 
men who  want  to  be  heard  before  the  committee  a  little  unfairly. 
We  have  permitted  one  speaker  to  speak  more  than  once  upon 
the  question  before  the  committee  and  others  have  been  here 
who  wanted  to  speak  and  have  not  had  the  opportunity.  I  think 
we  ought  to  go  ahead  and  give  all  of  them  an  opportunity  to  be 
heard. 

The  Chairman  :  I  expect  to  give  every  one  an  opportunity 
to  be  heard. 

Aid.  Geiger  :  Those  who  want  to  re-hash  we  will  hear  from 
again. 

The  Chairman  :    I  want  to  be  absolutely  fair. 

Aid.  Long:  I  think  Alderman  Geiger's  suggestion  is  a 
good  one. 

The  Chairman  :  I  want  to  be  absolutely  fair.  If  the  speak- 
ers who  have  not  been  heard  will  present  their  cards  I  will  see 
that  they  are  called. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Comerford  a  ques- 
tion. I  am  looking  for  information.  I  expect  to  be  called  upon 
to  vote  upon  this  ordinance.  If  there  is  no  objection  I  would 
like  to  ask  Mr.  Comerford  a  question. 

Mr.  Comerford  :  I  have  no  objection.  Of  course  I  am  sub- 
ject to  the  parliamentary  ruling  of  your  chairman. 

The  Chairman  :    I  will  allow  you  to  ask  the  question. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  If  I  understand  your  meaning,  Mr.  Comer- 
ford, you  said  that  the  Illinois  Central  had  no  riparian  rights. 
In  your  opinion,  is  there  any  reason  why  the  South  Park  Board 
could  not  step  in  and  build  this  park  immediately  without  the 
legislation? 

Mr.  Comerford:  I  think  the  South  Park  Board  could  try 
it,  and  if  the  Illinois  Central  enjoined  the  South  Park  Board 
from  going  further,  there  could  be  an  adjudication  undoubtedly 
of  this  particular  question. 

Aid.  Emerson:  It  would  not  take  very  much  longer  to  do 
that  than  to  have  the  Council  pass  this  ordinance. 

Mr.  Comerford  :  I  do  not  think  it  would  take  as  long,  for  I 
imagine  that  the  proceedings  would  take  many  years  if  the  tax- 
payers of  the  South  Side  once  get  into  court. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    Much  obliged. 

The  Chairman  :    We  will  listen  to  George  W.  Underwood. 


159 

Mr.  Geoege  W.  Underwood:     Mr.  Cliairman,  I  represent 
myself  as  a  taxpayer  and  a  resident  of  the  City  of  Chicago  for 
about  forty  years ;  on  the  South  Side  thirty-five  years.    I  heard 
til  at  Mr.  Comerford  was  a  good  orator  and  I  am  satisfied  from 
what  he  has  said  that  it  is  evident  he  is.    You  have  a  sample  of 
what  you  will  have  in  this  matter  if  it  is  thrown  into  the  Legis- 
lature or  if  it  is  thrown  into  the  courts  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
demning these  riparian  rights.    I  have  been  present  at  two  or 
three  days'  proceedings  and  I  have  some  idea  of  the  attitude  of 
those  who  are  opposing  this  ordinance.     The  attitude  of  those 
who  are  opposing  the  ordinance  seems  to  be  that  there  should 
be  some  preliminary  steps  taken,  first,  by  going  to  Springfield 
and  then  going  into  court,  and  it  would  be  with  just  the  same 
firmness  and  persistence  and  determination  that  the  question 
would  be  met  in  the  Illinois  Legislature  and  in  the  courts,  before 
the  proposition  would  get  as  far  along  as  it  is  now.     Public 
sentiment  will  carry  through  many  things  and  I  agree  with  Mr. 
Kosenthal  that  public  sentiment  would  eventually  force  the  Leg- 
islature of  the  State  of  Illinois  to  grant  this  right,  but  you  gen- 
tlemen in  this  room  are  fully  conscious  of  these  proceedings,  but 
there  are  thousands  of  people  in  the  City  of  Chicago  and  I  will 
venture  to  say  several  members  of  the  Legislature  who  do  not 
know  and  do  not  care  about  matters  that  are  now  being  heard 
in  this  room,  and  they  would  have  to  be  converted  and  that  by 
strenuous  efforts.     It  seems  to  me  that  the  solution  of  this 
question  depends  very  largely  on  the  viewpoint  which  is  taken 
and  that  a  correct  viewpoint  will  lead  logically  to  a  correct  solu- 
tion.    I  have  heard  with  some  disappointment  the  disposition 
to  place  the  corporation — the  Illinois  Central  Railroad — on  trial 
in  this  matter,  and  raise  all  kinds  and  sorts  of  questions  which 
would  tend  to  throw  the  prejudice  in  the  minds  of  the  members 
of  the  Council  and  of  this  committee  into  this  question.    A  har- 
monious solution  will  be  reached  by  a  careful  consideration  of 
the  interests  at  stake.     The  Park  Board,  the  City  of  Chicago 
and  the  citizens  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  the  interests  of  all  of 
those  are  identical,  and  I  venture  to  say  that  the  interests  of 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  with  one  exception,  are  identical 
also  in  this  matter.    I  mean  to  say  that  in  the  final  end  of  it  in 
one  respect,  the  interests  are  not  identical,  and  that  is,  in  the 
esthetic  of  the  situation.     The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  pro- 
poses to  run  a  railroad  there  and  use  these  tracks  for  cars  and 
engines.     To  that  extent,  due  to  the  output  of  machinery  and 
the  appearance  of  the  cars,  the  esthetic  appearance  of  that  park 
would  not  be  consistent  with  other  things — the  park  and  resi- 
dences along  that  line;  but,  gentlemen,  this  is  not  a  question  of 
placing  the  Illinois  Central  there.    The  Illinois  Central  is  there 
already  and  has  been  there  even  before  the  land  was  there  out 


160 

in  Grant  Park,  when  it  ran  on  piles  in  the  water.  Therefore,  as 
to  the  estlietic,  it  is  merely  a  question  of  extending  the  right  of 
way  from  200  feet  in  width  to  the  dimensions  asked  for,  and  as 
Mr.  Joseph  DeFrees,  as  President  of  the  Bar  Association  of 
the  City  of  Chicago,  said  to  yon  gentlemen  at  the  last  hearing, 
the  police  power  of  the  State  of  Illinois  will  give  to  the  city  the 
right  to  regulate  upon  that  right  of  way  the  noise  and  the 
smoke,  which  was  elaborated  upon  by  Mr.  Comerford.  Citizens 
in  the  manufacturing  business  know  that  when  mechanics  have 
arrived  at  a  stage  of  perfection  so  that  past  conditions  are  out 
of  date,  railroad  companies  and  others  must  put  in  machinery 
that  is  up  to  date,  and  when  conditions  are  such  that  the  Illi- 
nois Central  right  of  way  is  conducted  in  a  manner  that  is  out 
of  date,  or  inconsistent  with  the  welfare  of  the  public,  then  the 
police  power  of  the  city  can  rise  in  its  power  and  insist  on 
changes  being  made.  That  has  been  conceded  by  the  courts  and 
by  attorneys  of  the  highest  standing,  and  millions  of  doUars 
liave  been  expended  upon  the  elevation  of  tracks,  and  I  deem  it 
is  unnecessary  to  discuss  this  point  further. 

It  has  been  my  observation  that  when  men  pass  the  age  of 
forty  or  forty-five  they  recognize  the  value  of  harmony  in  dis- 
posing of  differences.  They  deliberate  and  get  together.  They 
would  rather  get  together  and  discuss  and  settle  matters  than 
to  go  to  legislatures  for  laws. 

Do  not  for  a  moment  imagine  that  I  bear  any  commission 
from  the  Illinois  Central  or  any  other  corporation.  I  have  lived 
in  this  towTi  when  it  was  called  the  **Hog  Road,"  and  people 
were  compelled  to  go  through  those  turnstiles,  but  I  am  happy 
to  say  that  I  have  lived  above  that  spirit  of  prejudice  when  a 
great  public  ordinance  like  this  comes  up  before  the  public  for 
consideration. 

Now  let  us  see :  Chicago  is  located  down  here  at  the  south 
end  of  the  lake.  A¥hat  built  Chicago!  I  say  if  there  is  any  one 
thing  that  built  Chicago  it  is  the  railroad.  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  the  railroads  did  it  as  the  Hand  of  God,  but  they  were 
the  instrument,  the  common  carriers  that  brought  the  passen- 
gers and  freight  to  this  center  and  landed  it  here  for  re-ship- 
ment again,  and  built  this  great  city  just  like  our  street  car 
companies  are  building  on  one  quarter  section  lines  and  cross- 
town  lines  so  that  real  estate  is  assessed  at  four  and  six  times 
what  it  used  to  be— $250.00  a  front  foot  at  Thirty-ninth  and  Cot- 
tage Grove  Avenue.  Why?  Because  it  is  a  transfer  point.  Now 
the  railroads  are  making  Chicago  and  if  you  give  them  a  chance 
they  will  continue  to  make  Chicago.  Do  we  stand  here  today 
and  say  because  it  was  once  called  the  *'Hog  Road"  we  will 
limit  them  to  200  feet,  shall  we  say  that  they  shall  have  that 
much  and  no  more?     Thev  have  lines  of  cars  there.     It  would 


161 

make  slight  difference  to  the  police  power  whether  they  have 
four  or  six  hundred  feet.  It  has  been  suggested  that  we  are  in 
a  state  of  wonderful  development.  These  states  do  not  come 
year  after  year;  they  come  once  in  twenty  or  thirty  years.  We 
are  now  in  the  midst  of  one.  Twelfth  Street  is  to  be  opened  to  the 
West  Side.  To  send  this  proposition  to  Springfield,  it  seems  to 
me,  would  cause  the  other  propositions  to  get  cold.  As  Mr.  But- 
ler has  said,  the  building  of  this  great  depot  at  Twelfth  Street 
and  Michigan  Avenue  is  of  itself  a  big  thing.  The  advance  in 
real  estate  has  already  been  heralded,  some  say  $20,000  a  foot 
on  Michigan  Avenue  and  Twelfth  Street.  You  say,  What  ad- 
vantage is  that?  If  land  in  Chicago  is  worth  $20,000  a  front 
foot,  gentlemen,  the  city  would  get  its  taxes  out  of  that.  Is  not 
the  land  of  Chicago  enhanced  in  value  by  this  improved  trans- 
portation? Therefore  the  public  immediately  gets  back  its 
value. 

It  may  be  said  that  we  may  go  to  Springfield  by  Monday 
and  have  a  special  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  and  we  may  get 
this  power  and  we  may  go  back  and  start  a  condemnation  pro- 
ceeding to  condemn  the  site  for  the  Field  Columbian  Museum 
out  there,  by  the  last  day  of  March  or  some  time  in  March.  If 
that  can  be  done,  that  would  be  the  most  rapid  lawsuit  that  ever 
was  heard  of,  to  do  that  inside  of  that  number  of  days,  but  sup- 
pose you  can,  suppose  that  can  be  done,  the  Field  Columbian 
Museum  would  be  outside  of  the  present  Illinois  Central — you 
have  still  the  Illinois  Central  between  the  Field  Museum  and 
Michigan  Avenue.  That  one  thing  alone  would  be  sufficient  to 
mar  the  whole  plan.  Suppose  all  this  is  accomplished  and  you 
have  your  legislation  and  your  condemnation  proceedings,  you 
still  have  difficulties  in  the  way. 

Now  there  are  a  couple  of  more  points  I  want  to  mention. 
The  boulevard  traffic  is  greatly  congested  on  the  South  Side.  I 
live  near  Thirty-third  and  South  Park  Avenue  where  the  auto- 
mobiles as  they  come  north  from  Grand  Boulevard  make  a 
sharp  turn  and  go  west  to  Michigan  Avenue.  The  neighbors  in 
that  vicinity  are  at  night  startled  with  the  screams  and  shouts 
of  people  making  that  sudden  turn.  One  of  the  greatest  bene- 
fits that  could  be  assured  to  the  South  Side  in  transportation 
matters  would  be  the  extension  of  Grand  Boulevard  north  to 
Twenty-second — to  the  southeast  corner  of  Grant  Park.  It  is 
absolutely  needed.  It  is  absolutely  needed  to  relieve  the  con- 
gestion the]"e  is  over  on  Michigan  Avenue. 

Another  thing,  when  this  is  started — when  this  work  can  be 
commenced,  there  will  be  any  amount  of  work  for  men  who  need 
work  to  fill  in  that  land.  Thousands  of  men  will  be  employed  to 
fill  the  lake  front. 

I  close  by  making  the  suggestion  that  it  seems  to  me  the 


162 

time  has  £?one  by  for  fighting  railroad  companies  simply  because 
they  are  railroad  companies,  but  to  consider  that  railroad  com- 
panies are  common  carriers,  are  quasi-public  corporations  or- 
ganized to  give  the  power  that  they  have  for  public  purposes, 
and  with  the  growth  and  development  of  railroad  companies 
comes  the  development  of  our  great  city.    I  thank  you. 

The  Chairman:  We  will  now  listen  to  Mr.  Wallace 
Hechman. 

Mr.  Wallace  Heckman:  Mr.  Chairman,  just  a  word.  I 
want  to  say  that  I  appear  before  you  simply  as  a  citizen,  one  of 
a  large  body  of  citizens  who  has  never  held  any  official  posi- 
tion, but  who  has  endeavored  to  take  an  active  part  to  see  that 
things  have  gone  as  well  in  his  neighborhood  as  he  could  help 
them  to  go. 

Now  in  this  I  should  like  to  say  one  or  two  things  to  clear 
away  the  underbrush.  To  myself,  talking  about  square  feet  and 
measurements  of  values  in  that  direction  seems  to  me  to  be  get- 
ting away  from  the  heart  of  the  matter.  This  is  a  lot  of  water 
at  the  present  time,  the  appearance  of  a  back  yard.  That  comes 
with  the  railroad  there,  and  if  you  add  to  it,  your  body  has  the 
j30wer  in  addition  to  giving  it  to  them,  to  compel  the  road  to 
abate  its  smoke  nuisance.  You  have  the  right  now,  you  are  not 
releasing  it.  The  road  is  there,  the  difference  is  that  you  will 
add  to  it  slightly.  It  seems  to  me  the  fault  is  not  vital.  What 
is  vital,  it  seems  to  me,  is  to  get  started  in  this  direction.  Now 
let  us  see  what  has  been  done.  We  have  had  in  this  work  the 
assistance  of  men  such  as  Mr.  Butler  and  Mr.  Hutchinson  and 
men  of  that  character,  for  a  long  period  of  time.  If  either  one 
of  you  gentlemen  or  if  I  were  represented  by  them  in  making  a 
bargain,  we  would  think  that  we  were  intelligently  represented. 
There  may  have  been  other  men  who  could  have  made  a  better 
bargain,  but  this  was  a  bargain,  was  it  not?  The  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railway  has  its  rights  and  it  has  its  friends.  We  recog- 
nize it  has  its  legal  rights,  and  the  main  point  I  want  to  impress 
upon  you  is  along  this  line — the  situation  at  Springfield  and  the 
proposed  new  legislation.  I  happened  to  have  been  at  Spring- 
field several  times  on  public  matters  and  in  private  matters  be- 
fore various  legislators.  I  want  to  say  that  we  may  as  well 
look  at  it  in  the  face,  gentlemen.  If  you  have  not  already  had 
experience  there  you  will  soon  know  that  we  in  the  city  are 
better  informed  of  our  conditions  and  interests  than  people  in 
the  state  at  large.  They  have  their  own  interests.  We  are  not 
a  large  fraction  in  that  Legislature  and  they  necessarily  have 
their  own  things  which  interest  them.  It  is  not  an  easy  thing 
to  get  them  to  take  up  a  private  thing  of  our  own  and  push  it 
through  for  our  benefit.  I  am  not  scolding  about  it ;  it  is  a  fact 
that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  has  many  friends 


163 

in  the  Legislature.  It  commences  at  the  north  end  of  the  State 
and  it  extends  to  the  south  end  of  the  State  and  it  ramifies  the 
State  cross-ways.  In  many  towns  where  that  road  runs,  it  has 
friends.  It  has  helped  some  towns.  It  is  not  wholly  bad.  They 
regard  it  as  their  road  to  a  certain  extent.  Not  only  have  they 
many  employes  of  the  road  who  are  interested  in  the  road,  but 
many  of  the  attorneys  in  these  various  towns  are  employed  by 
the  road.  It  is  a  fact,  in  other  words,  that  the  road  has  friends 
in  the  Legislature  plus  men  who  are  indifferent  throughout  the 
State.  It  will  be  no  easy  thing  to  get  a  piece  of  legislation 
through  of  this  sort.  You  who  have  not  been  there  will  find 
that  you  have  to  arouse  a  public  sentiment.  You  are  only  enter- 
ing upon  a  long  program.  Now  what  is  the  position  we  now 
hold?  It  is  that  you  have  made  a  bargain  with  men  who  had 
the  right  to  bargain  and  to  most  of  us  it  seems  to  be  a  bargain, 
as  good  a  bargain  as  could  have  been  made  under  the  circum- 
stances. It  is  at  least  the  thing  that  can  be  done  now,  while  the 
other  thing  will  extend  for  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  into  the 
future,  and  this  thing  can  make  of  Chicago  now  while  we  in  this 
room  are  living,  a  start  upon  a  plan  which  will  make  Chicago 
something  unique.  The  effect  of  this  improvement  will  go  over 
the  State  and  into  all  the  interior  towns,  and  the  residents  of 
those  towns  will  come  in  to  Chicago  to  spend  their  vacations 
and  their  money,  especially  if  they  know  that  they  can  spend  it 
in  some  beautiful  place.  It  is  our  fault  if  it  is  not  done,  for 
you  have  this  opportunity  of  making  it  a  beautiful  place  with 
a  park  in  front  extending  to  the  Midway.  No  city  in  the  world 
will  have  such  a  grand  front  as  the  City  of  Chicago,  such  a 
water  front,  and  park  and  water.  Now  that  is  a  value  that  to 
my  thinking  the  few  square  feet  of  water  in  the  backyard  of 
the  Illinois  Central  Company  does  not  bother  us  to  figure  closely. 
Let  us  keep  at  the  main  issue.  I  have  not  heard  it  contended  that 
any  man  in  this  room  could  have  made  a  better  bargain. 

The  Chairman:  We  will  now  listen  to  Mr.  Nelson,  Vice- 
President  of  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor. 

Mr.  Nelson:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  commit- 
tee, I  have  been  delegated  by  the  executive  committee  of  the 
Chicago  Federation  of  Labor  to  appear  here  this  afternoon  and 
make  this  statement,  that  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor  only 
had  its  attention  called  to  this  proposed  proposition,  or  the 
ordinance  now  before  you  for  consideration,  within  the  past 
week  or  ten  days,  and  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor  as  a 
body  has  delegated  its  executive  committee  to  study  this  ordi- 
nance and  to  make  some  kind  of  an  investigation.  Organized 
labor,  representing  labor  which  is  organized,  "but  which  indirect- 
ly represents  the  mass  of  workmen  in  the  entire  city,  are  in- 
tensely interested  in  the  proposition  involved  in  this  ordinance, 


164 

and  we  want  to  state  that  we  have  not  had  suflQcient  time  to 
read  tlie  ordinance  and  make  a  close  study  of  it  and  we  would 
ask  your  committee  to  give  us  a  hearing  a  little  later  on,  and  we 
trust  that  you  will  not  take  hasty  action  until  we  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  working  people  have  had  a  cha  ice  to  give  this 
matter  close  study  and  come  before  you  with  our  expression  of 
opinion.  We  are  interested  along  the  line  as  outlined  by  Mr. 
Comerf  ord  as  to  whether  this  ordinance  is  going  to  legalize  cer- 
tain rights  that  the  Illinois  Central  now  claims.  We  are  inter- 
ested, probably  more  than  the  representatives  of  the  South  Park 
Commission,  in  the  poorest  of  the  poor  people  who  live  within 
a  mile  of  this  lake  front,  and  we  are  just  as  anxious  to  get 
additional  park  space  and  breathing  space,  and  appreciate  the 
saving  of  their  lives,  as  much  as  any  public  representative  of 
the  City  Council  or  any  of  the  South  Park  Commission.  We 
know  something  of  the  Illinois  Central's  manipulations  in  some 
of  the  Legislatures.  We  have  had  our  representatives  at 
Springfield  and  we  can  attest  the  statement  made  before  this 
committee  this  afternoon  and  at  previous  meetings,  that  the  Illi- 
nois Central  has  been  represented  by  a  strong  and  powerful 
lobby  in  Springfield  at  the  last  session,  and  not  only  at  the  last 
session,  but  at  all  the  sessions.  We  have  been  interested  in 
legislation  since  we  became  intelligent  enough  to  take  an  interest 
as  to  what  our  representatives  in  the  State  Legislature  and  City 
Council  were  doing  in  the  way  of  protecting  our  interests.  We 
trust  you  gentlemen  will  not  report  this  matter  to  the  City  Coun- 
cil and  take  action  until  such  time  as  the  Chicago  Federation  of 
Labor  has  had  a  chance  to  thoroughly  study  this  proposed  or- 
dinance and  digest  the  proposition  involved. 

I  want  to  say  personally,  as  a  representative  of  the  Chi- 
cago Federation  of  Labor,  that  I  trust  this  committee  will  have 
the  proceedings  held  before  this  committee  printed,  and  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  copies  printed,  so  as  to  furnish  bodies  like  the 
Chicago  Federation  of  Labor,  and  all  other  civic  bodies  who 
may  be  interested,  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  and  the  testimony 
submitted  to  this  committee,  so  that  we  may  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  give  an  intelligent  study  to  this  question.  That  is  all 
I  can  say  at  this  time  in  behalf  of  the  Chicago  Federation  of 
Labor. 

The  Chairman  :  We  will  now  listen  to  Mr.  Harry  Gold- 
stine,  representing  the  Chicago  Eeal  Estate  Board. 

Mr.  Harry  Goldstine  :  Mr.  Chainnan,  I  have  here  a  report 
submitted  by  this  committee  to  the  Chicago  Eeal  Estate  Board 
at  its  meeting  today,  which  report  was  adopted  and  which  I 
will  read. 

(Mr.  Goldstine  read  the  following:) 


165 

Oentlemen  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board: 

Your  committee  appointed  by  your  president  to  investigate  the  contract 
between  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  beg  leave  to  report  that  we  have  made  an  ex- 
haustive investigation  into  all  the  details  and  points  covered  by  this  con- 
tract. 

As  members  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board,  representing  many  and 
divers  real  estate  interests  all  over  the  City  of  Chicago,  we  feel  that  we 
are  qualified  to  judge,  not  only  of  the  values  of  real  estate  in  this  partic- 
ular transaction,  but  also  of  the  benefits  that  will  accrue  to  real  estate  in 
the  entire  City  of  Chicago,  through  the  consummation  of  the  proposed 
transaction. 

As  real  estate  men,  familiar  with  negotiations,  we  realize  especially 
that  each  party  to  a  transaction  expects  to  reap  benefits  therefrom.  As  to 
the  charge  that  undue  secrecy  prevailed  in  the  negotiation  of  the  transac- 
tion referred  to,  we  beg  to  state  that  the  charge  appears  to  your  commit- 
tee as  ridiculous  in  the  extreme.  In  the  negotiation  of  any  large  transac- 
tion we  know  the  absolute  necessity  for  secrecy.  You  cannot  "hunt  ducks 
with  a  brass  band." 

Our  investigation  developed  the  following  as  the  benefits  received  by 
both  sides  of  the  aforesaid  transaction: 

Railroad  Benefits. 

1.  An  enlarged  right  of  way  consisting  of  108  acres  of  land  entirely 
under  water,  between  the  breakwater  and  the  proposed  boundary  line,  and 
west  of  the  breakwater  an  additional  12  acres,  which  is  also  under  water, 
and  whatever  rights  the  city  has  to  the  42  acres  of  made  land  now  in  liti- 
gation between  the  State  and  the  railroad  company. 

2.  Vacated  streets  and  alleys  comprising  about  20,000  square  feet  of 
land. 

Benefits  to  the  People  of  Chicago. 

1.  The  acquisition  from  the  railroad  company  of  its  shore  rights,  be- 
ing 92  per  cent,  of  the  entire  rights  lying  between  Twelfth  Street  and 
Fifty-first  Street,  the  acquisition  of  which  rights  based  on  surveys  and 
soundings  already  made,  make  possible  the  creation  of  a  park  of  over  1,500 
acres,  with  provisions  for  bathing  beaches,  recreation  piers,  boating,  etc. 

2.  The  acquisition  from  the  railroad  company  of  the  present  location 
of  the  Illinois  Central  depot  at  Park  Row  and  Twelfth  Street,  and  the 
agreement  on  the  part  of  the  railroad  company  to  build  a  new  and  magnifi- 
cent station  at  Michigan  Boulevard  and  Twelfth  Street,  of  classic  design, 
and  to  comport  with  the  character  of  the  Field  Museum. 

3.  The  acquisition  by  the  City  of  Chicago  of  8%  acres  of  made  land 
between  Twelfth  Street  and  Thirteenth  Street  east  of  the  present  railroad 
right  of  way. 

4.  The  acquisition  by  the  City  of  Chicago  of  85  feet  off  the  south 
side  of  Twelfth  Street  between  Michigan  Avenue  and  the  right  of  way  of 
the  railroad,  for  the  purpose  of  making  Twelfth  Street  a  widened  roadway. 

5.  The  right  of  the  city  of  extending  Twelfth  Street  widened  from 
Michigan  Boulevard  over  the  right  of  way  of  the  railroad  company  to  the 
before-mentioned  8%  acres  and  making  direct  connection  to  the  lake  itself. 

6.  The  right  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  locate  the  Field 
Columbian  Museum  at  Twelfth  Street  and  the  lake. 

7.  The  right  of  the  City  of  Chicago  to  establish  an  outer  harbor  be- 
tween Sixteenth  and  Twenty-second  Streets  with  two  connecting  approaches 
over  the  railroad  right  of  way. 

8.  The  right  of  the  city  to  provide  for  the  connection  of  the  Belt 
Railroad  on  Fortieth  Street  with  the  proposed  outer  harbor. 

9.  The  right  to  the  city  to  establish  crossings  over  the  enlarged  right 
of  way  of  the  railroad  company  between  Twelfth  Street  and  Fifty-first 
Street,  namely,  four  crossings  in  each  mile. 


166 

10.  The  right  of  the  City  of  Chicago  to  extend  all  east  and  west  ex- 
isting streets  between  Monroe  Street  and  Twelfth  Street  over  the  right  of 
way  of  the  railroad  company. 

11.  The  right  to  place  canopies  fifty  feet  in  width  on  each  side  of 
the  railroad  right  of  way  extending  from  Monroe  to  Twelfth  Streets  on 
both  sides  of  the  said  right  of  way,  and  from  Monroe  to  Randolph  Street 
on  the  west  side  thereof. 

The  Valuation  Committee  of  your  Board  has  furnished  to  this  com- 
mittee its  estimate  of  the  value  of  all  lands  in  question,  which  is  as 
follows: 

The  properties  and  rights  submitted  to  us,  assuming  that  the  area 
covered  is  all  filled  land,  as  follows: 

Lying   Between  Thirteenth  and  Twenty-fifth   Streets,  to  Be   Acquired 
BY  the  Illinois  Central  R.  R. 

Values — assuming   the    land    is    made    and    street    improvements    com- 
pleted : 
Thirteenth   to   Twenty-fifth    Street,    2,522,890   sq.   ft.,   at   $2   per 

sq.    ft $5,045,780.00 

Twenty-sixth  to  Thirty-sixth  Street,  812,852  sq.  ft.,  at  80  cents 

per   sq.    ft 650,281.60 

Thirty-sixth  to  Thirty-ninth  Street,  City  Pumping  Station. 
Thirty-ninth   to    Fifty-first    Street,    937,400   sq.    ft,   at   80    cents 

per  sq.  ft 749,920.00 

42  acres  made  land  west  of  breakwater,  in  litigation,  1,829,520 

sq.  ft.,  at  $1  per  sq.  ft 1,829,520.00 

12  acres  submerged  land  west  of  breakwater 522.720.00 

Total    $8,798,221.60 

Values  to  Be  Acquired  by  the  Public. 

Depot  site  and  85  feet  southwest  corner  Michigan  Boulevard 
and  Twelfth  Street  east  to  the  right  of  way  of  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad    $2,000,000.00 

81^  acres  at  Twelfth  Street  and  Lake  Michigan,  366,875  sq.  ft, 

at  $5    1,834,375.00 

3  acres  south  of  Thirty-ninth  Street,  bathing  beach,  130,680  sq.  ft.      104,544.00 

Total  $3,938,919.00 

Total  value  to  be  acquired  by  the  Illinois  Central $8,798,221.60 

Total  value  to  be  acquired  by  the  public 3,938,919.00 

$4,859,302.60 
Supplementary. 

In  this  report  we  have  not  taken  into  consideration  nor  placed  any 
value  on  the  1.550  acres  of  submerged  lands  that  the  public  acquired  for 
its  use.  which,  if  valued  on  the  basis  of  the  lowest  price  placed  on  the  land 
acnuiied  hv  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  will  amount  to  over 
$54,000,000. 

Neither  have  we  taken  into  consideration  the  value  of  the  buildings 
and  inrvovements  on  the  Twelfth  Street  properties  to  be  acquired  from 
the  111  noi:.  Ceutral  Railroad  Company,  which  would  have  to  be  paid  for, 
if  condemned. 


167 

THE  CHICAGO  REAL  ESTATE  BOARD. 
Incorporated  A.  D.  18S3. 

Chicago.  January  29,  1912. 

Special  Committee  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board  to  investigate  the 
Illinois  Central  R.  R.  and  South  Park  Commissioners'  contract. 

We,  the  undersigned,  members  of  the  Valuation  Committee  of  the  Chi- 
cago Real  Estate  Board,  have  carefully  considered  the  application  made  by 
you  for  a  valuation  on  the  following  described  property: 

As  per  schedule  hereto  attached. 
We  hereby  certify  that  we  have  personally  examined  said  prem- 
ises, and  that  we  have  no  personal  interest  in  the  property 
valued  herein,  and  in  our  opinion  said  land  is  worth,  ex- 
clusive of  improvements $ 

Value  of  improvements $ 

Total  valuation  ? 

Valuation  Committee  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board. 

Frederick   S.  Oliver, 

President. 
Raymond  E.  Herman, 

Secretary. 
By  Marvin  A.  Farr, 
Callistus  S.  Ennis, 
Wm.  H.  Babcock, 
William  D.  Kerfoot, 
William  D.  McKey, 
Harry  Goldstine, 
[seal.]  Members. 

The  aforesaid  report  of  the  Valuation  Committee  is  in  our  judgment  a 
complete  answer  to  those  who  charge  that  in  dollars  and  cents  the  railroad 
company  is  the  beneficiary  in  the  transaction  to  the  extent  of  over  $17,- 
000,000. 

Whereas,  we  realize  that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  is  receiving  cer- 
tain benefits  under  the  terms  of  the  aforesaid  contract,  nevertheless,  the  ben- 
efits accruing  to  the  citizens  in  every  section  of  the  City  of  Chicago  are  so 
overwhelmingly  greater — impossible,  in  fact,  to  estimate — that  your  com- 
mittee urges  this  Board  to  recommend  to  the  City  Council  the  immediate 
passage  of  the  revised  ordinance  now  under  consideration  by  the  City  Coun- 
cil, which  ordinance  ratifies  and  confirms  the  contract  between  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad. 

In  conclusion,  your  committee  feels  so  strongly  that  the  consummation 
of  the  aforesaid  contract  will  be  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  in  the  great 
conception  known  as  the  Chicago  Plan,  and  an  encouragement  to  those 
public-spirited  men  who  have  given  so  amply  of  their  time  and  money  to 
the  perfection  of  said  plan,  that  we  think  your  board,  by  making  the  afore- 
said recommendation,  will  be  doing  a  public  service  of  the  greatest  possi- 
ble magnitude. 

W.    D.    ICerfoot.    Chairman. 
Geo.  L.  Warner, 
Albert  H.  Wetten, 
Harry  Goldstine, 
Roy  B.  Tabor, 
E.  Orris  Hart. 

Contiiming,  Mr.  Goldstine  said: 

This  committee  on  Chicago  Eeal  Estate  Board  is  here  to- 
day, not  as  a  standing  committee,  which  among  its  own  mem- 
bership has  taken  up  this  question,  but  as  a  special  committee 


168 

appointed  by  the  president,  at  the  unanimous  request  at  a  well 
attended  meeting  held  Thursday,  January  25th,  and  further 
than  that,  after  the  deliberations  of  this  committee  for  two 
days,  at  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  held  today,  this  com- 
mittee was  authorized  to  present  its  views  as  the  sentiment  of 
the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board. 

The  first  question  to  be  considered  by  this  committee  from 
the  real  estate  point  of  view  is :  What  do  the  city  and  the  Park 
Commissioners  get,  and  from  whom,  and  what  do  they  give  in 
return?  As  we  understand  it,  the  municipality  gets  8^  acres 
at  the  point  of  Thirteenth  Street,  a  string  85  feet  in  width  on 
the  south  side  of  Twelfth  Street  from  Michigan  Avenue  east 
to  the  present  Illinois  Central  right  of  way,  the  land  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  Illinois  Central  east  of  Michigan  Avenue  and  be- 
tween Park  Row  and  Twelfth  Street.  What  are  the  values  of 
the  land  in  question?  Assuming  that  the  values  of  land  for 
railroad  purposes,  given  by  the  objectors  at  $5  per  foot,  is 
correct,  then  this  42  acres  should  be  figured  at  this  rate,  assum- 
ing that  the  title  is  clear  and  that  there  are  no  adverse  claims. 
But  in  this  claim  the  title  is  in  question,  and  it  is  not  used 
for  railroad  purposes.  Who  can  tell  its  value  with  such  a  lien 
against  it?  In  order,  however,  to  arrive  at  a  basis  for  figur- 
ing, let  us  take  this  42  acres  containing  1,829,520  square  feet, 
and  by  reason  of  the  contrary  claim  say  it  is  worth  $5  per 
square  foot.  It  would  give  a  value  of  about  $5,488,560.  We 
will  now  take  the  108  acres  about  which  there  seems  to  be  such 
a  great  disagreement  of  opinion.  The  objectors  claim  an  aver- 
age value  of  $5  per  square  foot  based  on  railroad  values,  con- 
tending that  the  present  right  of  way  of  road  has  such  a  value, 
or  even  greater  value.  What  is  this  based  on?  The  naked 
value  of  the  land  under  the  right  of  way,  or  is  it  the  land  in 
connection  with  its  use  by  a  great  railroad  company  and  as 
an  integral  part  of  a  great  system?  The  best  test  of  the  value 
of  land  alongside  a  railroad  without  the  knowledge  of  its  use 
by  a  railroad  company,  is  that  at  which  it  can  be  bought  in 
the  open  market.  Let  us  assume  that  this  entire  proceeding 
was  unheard  of  and  the  Illinois  Central  road  went  out  and 
bought  an  additional  right  of  way.  What  would  it  cost?  Only 
so  much  as  you  could  buy  the  property  for  its  present  highest 
and  best  use.  Take  this  108  acres  at  their  valuation  and  it 
would  mean  about  5,200,000  square  feet  at  $3  per  foot  or  $16,- 
000,000,  which  means  practically  $150,000  per  acre.  An  acre 
of  land  contains  9  2/5  average  city  lots  25  by  125,  and  if  you 
will  stop  to  figure  this,  you  will  find  that  the  average  price  of  a 
25-foot  lot  on  this  basis  in  the  district  from  Twelfth  to  Fifty- 
first  Streets  for  its  present  and  highest  and  best  use,  is  $16,000, 
or  $650  per  front  foot.    The  land  in  question  can  have  no  value 


169 

as  a  railroad  property  until  it  is  used  for  railroad  purposes, 
and  then  in  connection  with  a  complete  system,  and  no  layman 
or  real  estate  man  can  estimate  this  value,  and  an  experienced 
railroad  man  only  can  estimate  this,  as  the  greater  part  of  its 
value  lies  in  the  good  will  and  franchise  of  the  railroad  and 
not  in  the  naked  value  of  the  land. 

And  now  what  is  the  actual  value  of  the  108  acres  of  land 
if  it  were  all  made  land,  and  streets  laid  out,  pavements,  side- 
walks and  underground  work  all  in,  actual  value  for  commer- 
cial, residence  or  other  real  estate  purposes?  We  report  these 
values.  The  land,  as  before  stated,  from  the  open  market,  all 
made  and  filled,  streets  paved,  sidewalks  in,  sewers  and  water 
and  all  complete.  But  what  have  we  instead?  This  108  acres 
of  land  all  submerged,  which  must  be  filled  in  by  the  railroad 
company  at  its  own  expense,  who  will  gainsay  the  statement 
that  it  will  cost  nearly,  if  not  as  much,  to  fill  it  in  as  it  will  be 
worth  when  made? 

Now  as  to  the  other  suggestions  by  objectors.  It  has  been 
said  that  a  special  session  of  the  Legislature  can  be  called,  and 
that  the  Governor  would  be  willing  to  call  it.  Does  any  one 
here  believe  that,  even  if  the  Governor  did  call  a  special  ses- 
sion, for  a  question  interesting  and  applying  only  to  Chicago, 
that  the  country  members  will  convene  and  that  a  quorum  can 
be  gathered?  We  believe  not,  and  from  past  experience  it  can 
hardly  be  controverted  that  such  a  question  would  prevail.  It 
has  again  been  suggested  that  the  city  force  the  railroad  com- 
pany to  depress  its  tracks  in  the  same  manner  as  the  railroad 
was  forced  to  elevate  its  tracks.  Is  this  latter  a  fact?  From 
investigation  we  believe  you  will  find  that  every  ordinance  for 
the  elevation  of  tracks  in  Chicago  is  a  contract  ordinance,  and 
while  it  may  be  possible  to  force  it  to  do  so,  we  believe  such 
legislation  would  be  fought  determinately,  and  who  knows  when 
it  would  be  realized? 

It  is  also  suggested  that  the  rights  here  desired  might  be 
acquired  by  condemnation,  and  citing  the  fact  that  the  Chicago 
&  Northwestern  Railroad  Company  took  but  little  time  to  ac- 
quire its  depot  site.  A  railroad  company  can  surely,  as  stated, 
condemn,  and  in  case  of  appeal  take  possession  of  the  property 
after  a  trial  in  the  lower  courts,  by  paying  over  a  sufficient 
amount  of  money  to  protect  the  property  owner,  and  it  has 
the  money,  but  can  a  municipality  do  this?  We  should  say 
no,  and  why?  Because  a  municipality  must  pay  the  award  by 
its  issuance  of  bonds,  and  who  will  buy  bonds,  or  where  will  a 
municipality  sell  bonds,  until  a  final  adjudication  of  the  ques- 
tion at  issue?  Even  take  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  referred 
to ;  after  getting  a  judgment  in  the  lower  court,  it  found  it  ex- 
pedient to  settle  with  all  the  property  owners  at  greatly  in- 


170 

creased  figures  over  the  verdicts,  to  avoid  appeal  and  get  im- 
mediate possession  of  the  property.  Again,  when  the  City  of 
Chicago  condemned  West  llandolph  Street  from  Halsted  to 
Sangamon  Streets,  only  three  blocks,  it  took  seven  or  eight  years 
of  consistent  and  insistent  hard  work  to  bring  it  to  a  final  con- 
clusion. 

With  reference  to  the  bugaboo  of  smoke,  noise,  etc.,  we 
know  that  whatever  rights  the  city  has  to  compel  the  abate- 
ment of  these  so-called  nuisances,  it  will  still  have  that  right,  and 
whether  the  right  of  way  is  200  feet  wide  or  600  feet  wide,  it  is 
up  to  the  city  and  the  evolution  of  the  times  to  remedy  this  so- 
called  evil,  and  don't  forget  that  the  growth  and  development 
of  Chicago  is  in  a  large  measure  due  to  the  smoke  and  noise 
of  the  railroads  of  tliis  city,  and  were  it  not  for  these  railroads 
Chicago  might  not  be  in  the  forefront  of  American  cities.  We 
believe  as  science  advances  that  the  railroads  themselves,  with- 
out any  solicitation  or  compulsion,  will  gladly  overcome  this 
supposed  nightmare. 

It  is  contended  that  the  railroad  company  will  get  such  tre- 
mendous benefits  from  this  undertaking  without  cost  to  it,  and 
from  whom  ?  Does  it  ever  occur  to  the  public-spirited  citizens  to 
single  out  the  many  individual  property  o^vners  who  many  times 
realize  great  benefits  from  public  improvements  and  ask  them 
to  pay  the  extreme  of  such  benefits  into  the  public  treasury? 
We  do  not  think  so,  and  can  see  no  reason  why  a  railroad  com- 
pany in  this  respect  is  any  different  from  you  or  any  other 
private  property  owner. 

And  now  to  the  final  and  most  important  component  part 
of  this  whole  scheme — the  location  of  the  Field  Columbian  Mu- 
seum on  the  lake  front  at  Twelfth  Street.  Without  reference 
to  a  single  foot  of  land  to  be  acquired  by  the  municipality,  with- 
out reference  to  the  many  other  beautiful  plans  involved  in  this 
undertaking,  "v\ithout  reference  to  the  removal  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Station  to  south  of  Twelfth  Street,  and  the  effect  it  will 
have  on  other  railroads  and  their  location  in  this  zone — yes,  with- 
out all  these  many  things,  we  believe  that  the  location  of  the 
grand  institution  of  learning  and  interest  in  the  very  heart  almost 
of  this  great  city  will  be  of  greater  benefit  than  all  the  benefits 
to  be  gained  by  the  railroad  company.  In  fact,  the  gain  to  the 
railroad  company  can  be  measured  in  dollars  and  cents,  but  not 
so  with  reference  to  the  city  and  its  vast  nimibers  of  people. 

With  the  beginning  of  this  year  the  Chicago  Real  Estate 
Board  has  re-adopted  the  great  *'I  will"  spirit  of  Chicago,  and 
with  this  motto  before  it,  hopes  that  the  shortsightedness  of  a 
few  objectors  will  not  prevail.  Let  us  keep  on  going,  pushing, 
helping,  and  trust  that  the  unselfish  motives  of  the  Chicago 
Plan  Commission,  the  city  administration,  the  public-spirited 


171 

citizens  who  are  giving  their  best  time  and  thought,  be  crys- 
tallized in  the  successful  conclusion  of  this  great  undertaking, 
which  is  only  a  forerunner  of  many  more  good  and  beautiful 
plans  in  store  for  beautiful  Chicago. 

Mr.  Comerfoed:  Can  I  ask  a  question,  Mr.  Goldstine  1  You 
spoke  of  considerations  passed  to  the  people  from  the  Illinois 
Central,  and  you  mention  under  twelve  different  distinct  con- 
siderations or  departments.  Have  you  or  your  committee  a 
legal  opinion  as  to  whether  or  not  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  has  any  shore  rights'? 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :  We  have  had  the  opinion — a  legal  opinion, 
so  far  as  matters  have  gone  up  to  this  time,  that  the  Illinois 
Central  has,  but  as  to  the  absolute  right  of  the  Illinois  Central 
I  cannot  say,  but  we  assume  that  it  has. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD:  Did  your  committee  ever  have  an  exam- 
ination made  of  the  abstract? 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :  I  am  informed  that  the  Chicago  Title  and 
Trust  Company  reports  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  a  good  title 
in  the  riparian  rights  on  the  lake  shore.  That,  in  a  measure, 
covers  your  question. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD:    Has  your  committee  filed  that  opinion? 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :    No,  it  has  not. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD:    You  don't  know  who  examined  it? 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :    No,  sir. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD :  I  would  ask  that  you  file  it  with  this  com- 
mittee— the  opinion  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  shore  rights. 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :  I  am  informed  we  can  get  that  opinion  on 
the  title  and  furnish  it  to  the  committee. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD:  Is  that  based  upon  some  interests  ac- 
quired by  purchase? 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :  I  do  not  know  what  the  basis  is.  I  am  in- 
formed that  such  an  opinion  exists  and  that  the  opinion  is 
available  to  this  committee. 

The  Chairman  :    You  will  get  the  opinion  in? 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE:    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD :  Do  you  not  know  as  a  matter  of  law  that 
ten  of  the  twelve  considerations  you  itemize  have  passed  from 
the  Illinois  Central  to  the  people  and  are  at  present  the  right  of 
the  people? 

Mr.  Goldstine:  If  you  will  give  me  each  question,  I  will 
endeavor  to  report  to  you  on  them. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD :  Will  your  committee  file  with  the  Council 
Committee  the  opinion  so  it  will  be  accessible  to  the  bar,  the 
legal  reasons  upon  which  you  predicate  or  enumerate  twelve 
considerations  passed  to  the  people? 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  I  can  only  answer  that  by  saying  that  the 
committee  did  not  predicate  it  upon  legal  reasons,  but  based  it 


172 

upon  their  own  best  judgment  as  real  estate  men  who  know 
conditions  in  the  City  of  Chicago.  We  have  not  gone  into  the 
legal  phase  of  this  proposition. 

Mr.  CoMEEFOED:  The  proposition  of  a  man  giving  some- 
thing to  some  one  else  is  always  a  legal  proposition  to  deter- 
mine whether  or  not  he  has  anything  to  give.  In  other  words, 
the  question  of  title  is  paramount  and  determines  tlie  gift. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  I  can  only  say  in  reference  to  that,  the 
point  which  has  been  discussed  here,  that  the  railroad  company 
has  been  getting  some  things  and  the  city  has  been  getting  cer- 
tain things,  and  we  try  to  offset  one  against  the  other  and  try 
to  show  the  gentlemen  of  this  committee  that  we,  as  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Real  Estate  Board,  who  handle  property  in  all 
parts  of  Chicago,  endeavor  to  show  that  the  valuation  placed 
by  some  people  of  $21,000,000  over  and  above  what  the  city 
gets  is  ridiculous.  As  to  the  legal  phases  of  it,  we  know  noth- 
ing about  it.  If  the  contention  here  is  a  legal  one,  that  is  a 
contention  between  the  lawyers  representing  the  city  and  the 
Park  Board  and  the  railroad  company  and  yourselves. 

Mr.  Lessing  Rosenthal.:  May  I  be  permitted  to  ask  this 
question,  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  misunderstanding,  and 
seeking  to  assist  the  committee?  Mr.  Goldstine,  do  you  assume 
in  making  your  valuation  that  the  title  to  the  submerged  lands 
is  in  the  people? 

Mr.  Goldstine  :    You  mean  the  108  acres  ? 

Mr.  Rosenthal.  :    Yes,  sir,  as  well  as  the  1,500  acres. 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  I  do  not  know  where  the  title  is.  We  have 
been  informed  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  108  acres  of  land 
and  we  are  assuming  that  the  title  is  good  in  the  party  that 
gives  it  to  the  city  or  gives  it  to  the  railroad  company — what 
that  land  would  be  worth  under  the  conditions  that  we  set  forth. 

Mr.  Rosenthal.  :  Well,  then,  have  you  not  the  right  to  take 
into  consideration  in  fixing  the  valuation  of  this  108  acres,  or 
the  total  sum  of  160  acres,  because  I  understand  there  are  120 
acres  of  land  that  is  submerged,  and  142  acres  that  is  made — 
did  you  take  into  consideration  the  best  uses  which  that  land 
can  be  put  to?  Don't  vou  real  estate  men  constantly  testify  to 
that? 

Mr.  Goldstine:  That  it  be  used  for  the  best  use  it  can  be 
put  to  under  the  ordinary  conditions  in  the  market.  Do  you  ask 
the  question  for  the  purpose  of  getting  an  answer,  Mr.  Rosen- 
thal? 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :    I  thought  you  had  finished. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  We  value  the  land  as  we  find  it.  It  may 
be  alongside  of  a  railroad  company  and  may  be  available  for 
factories  and  residences  or  other  purposes.  We  do  not  assume 
that  it  is  available  for  railroad  purposes  in  the  sense  of  rail- 


173 

load  property  until  such  time  as  we  know  the  railroad  company 
"wants  it  or  is  bound  to  use  it.  I  will  say  personally  that  no 
member  of  our  committee,  and  I  do  not  know  of  any  member 
of  the  Real  Estate  Board,  who  would  be  willing  to  set  a  value 
on  real  estate  land.  We  will  set  the  value  upon  the  land  for 
the  purpose  it  can  be  sold  for  in  the  open  market  at  the  mar- 
ket price.  We  do  not  think  there  is  such  a  thing  as  market 
price  for  railroad  land,  depending  entirely  upon  the  railroad, 
its  system,  and  all  the  things  that  go  with  it. 

Mr.  Rosenthal.  :  Assuming  they  trade  that  160  acres  of  land 
io  to  be  used  for  railroad  purposes,  as  it  is  quite  likely  to  be, 
because  they  are  inmiediately  adjacent  to  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad,  their  right  of  way,  and  are  intending  to  give  to  the 
Illinois  Central  a  right  of  way,  what  valuation  do  you  place 
upon  this  160  acres  of  land  for  railroad  purposes'? 

Mr.  Goldstine:  At  the  time  the  railroad  takes  it  and  uses 
it  for  railroad  purposes'? 

Mr.  RosENTHAx.:    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  I  would  not  attempt  to  make  a  valuation 
for  railroad  purposes.  If  I  had  clients  who  knew  that  a  rail- 
road company  wanted  to  buy  it,  I  would  value  that  land  for  its 
highest  and  best  use,  such  as  it  might  be,  and  give  you  that  val- 
uation, but  after  becoming  railroad  property  and  used  for  rail- 
road purposes,  I  cannot  give  you  that  value. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Mr.  Goldstine,  assuming  that  you  are  the 
City  of  Chicago  and  had  these  160  acres  of  land,  and  had  the 
power  to  lease  them  for  railroad  purposes,  because  they  are  im- 
mediately adjacent  to  the  right  of  way,  what  valuation  would 
you  place  upon  the  160  acres? 

Mr.  Goldstine:  I  would  place  the  valuation  on  the  land, 
if  I  were  asked  to  put  a  valuation  on  it ;  as  a  member  of  the  Real 
Estate  Board,  I  would  entirely  ignore  the  services  for  which 
it  was  going  to  be  used,  but  give  the  land  a  value  as  I  knew 
it  to  be  worth,  situated  as  it  was. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  I  just  want  to  ask  you  a  few  other  ques- 
tions. The  next  thing  is  this,  this  right  of  way,  have  you  made 
any  valuation  of  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way  from  Twelfth 
Street  to  Fifty-first  Street  as  a  railroad  right  of  way'? 

Mr.  Goldstine:    We  have  not. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Then  let  me  ask  you  another  question. 
In  fixing  the  valuation,  have  you  taken  into  consideration  the 
revenues  which  the  railroad  company  derives  from  leases'? 

Mr.  Goldstine:  Not  knowing  the  revenues  I  could  not 
make  a  calculation. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  The  Real  Estate  Board  have  made  no  val- 
uation of  that? 

Mr.  Goldstine:    No,  sir. 


174 

Mr.  EosENTHAL:  You  say  the  difference  in  favor  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Eailroacl,  according-  to  the  fig-ures  you  have 
given,  on  these  conservative  valuations  you  have  stated,  would 
be  approximately  $5,000,000? 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :    You  misunderstood  the  facts. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    Four  million  and  some  dollars'? 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :    I  think  you  misunderstood  them. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :    Give  them  to  me. 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :  I  said  the  values  were  conservative  and 
not  liberal.  I  stated  that  the  valuations  as  placed  by  this  com- 
mittee were  liberal  valuations;  that  the  net  credit  to  the  Illi- 
nois Central  was  something  over  $4,000,000,  and  that  was  based 
— $4,800,000,  and  that  was  based — you  will  find  we  stated  that 
that  was  based  on  the  value  of  the  108  acres  after  it  was  made 
and  laid  out  into  streets  and  blocks,  streets  paved  and  all  the 
other  conditions  that  go  to  make  city  streets  and  city  property, 
and  that  if  the  land  was  not  figured  at  that  value  that  the  result 
would  have  been  entirely  different.  I  want  to  be  fair  to  the  com- 
mittee to  show  them  how  we  arrive  at  these  figures.  As  far  as 
the  Real  Estate  Board  is  concerned,  the  value  of  the  land  does 
not  concern  them. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Have  you  taken  into  account  that  the 
$4,800,000  is  more  than  the  proposed  price  of  the  Field  Colum- 
bian Museum — if  it  is  a  fact  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  for- 
feited its  riparian  rights  to  a  great  deal  of  this  property,  and 
there  were  no  riparian  rights  at  all,  and  that  for  this  $4,800,000 
the  Park  Board  of  the  City  of  Chicago  could  construct  as  beau- 
tiful a  building  as  the  proposed  Field  Museum  built  opposite 
Twelfth  Street? 

Mr.  Goldstine:  That  is  a  legal  question  involving  the 
rights  of  the  different  parties. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :    It  is  a  question  of  money  value. 

Mr.  Butler:    What  the  building  would  cost  alone? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:     Yes. 

Mr.  Butler  :    How  about  the  site  too  ? 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  The  site  we  would  get  anyway.  If  we  had 
the  right  to  build,  we  would  get  the  site.  I  wanted  to  know  if 
your  Real  Estate  Board  had  taken  that  into  account. 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  No,  sir ;  we  have  taken  the  facts  as  brought 
out  in  this  committee. 

Aid.  Long  :  Mr.  Chairman,  while  I  do  not  regard  this  ques- 
tion of  valuation  as  particularly  important,  I  would  like  to  ask 
one  question  that  will  probably  throw  some  light  upon  the  mat- 
ter for  the  benefit  of  the  committee.  Mr.  Goldstine,  do  you 
consider  the  valuation  of  land  per  square  foot  adjacent  to  the 
Illinois  Central  on  the  west  side  of  the  right  of  way,  any  more 


175 

valuable  or  any  less  valuable  than  similarly  located  land  on 
the  east  side  of  the  right  of  way  I 

Mr.  Goldstine:  Assuming  that  there  were  improvements  on 
the  east  side  as  well  as  the  west,  if  anything,  the  land  on  the 
west  side  would  be  a  little  more  valuable  on  account  of  accessi- 
bility. You  would  not  have  to  cross  the  tracks  if  it  was  used 
for  commercial  purposes. 

Aid.  Long:  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Rosenthal  the  same 
question. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  You  have  to  take  into  account  that  much 
of  that  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  right  of  way  is  already 
damaged  by  being  immediately  adjacent  to  the  Illinois  Central 
right  of  way.  For  railroad  purposes  it  has  much  greater  value 
.than  it  has  for  its  present  purposes.  Some  of  it  is  residence 
property  and  some  of  it  is  factory  property,  but  has  no  con- 
nection with  the  Illinois  Central;  for  this  one  purpose  it  is 
worth  less  than  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way.  If  you  had 
a  strip  of  land,  to  my  notion,  immediately  east  and  adjacent 
to  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Centra]  Railroad,  using  that 
for  railroad  purposes,  that  land  is  worth  more  for  railroad 
purposes  than  the  land  west  of  the  right  of  way,  and  the  present 
lot  value  of  the  land  immediately  west  of  the  right  of  way  is 
not  what  it  would  be  worth  for  railroad  purposes.  My  notion 
is  it  would  be  worth  more  for  railroad  purposes  than  it  is  for 
its  present  use,  and  the  fact  that  it  cannot  be  used  for  rail- 
road purposes  diminishes  its  value.  I  might  say  one  other 
thing  in  answer  to  that.  I  think  I  quoted  the  figures  here  the 
last  time,  that  some  fifteen  years  ago  I  think  $1.65  was  paid  per 
square  foot  by  the  city  for  land  in  connection  with  the  pumping 
station.  You  see,  this  is  at  Thirty-ninth  and  Lake  Avenue.  I 
think  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Works  at  the  time  that  land 
was  taken  estimated  it  at  $1.65  per  square  foot. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  Mr.  Rosenthal,  is  it  not  a  fact  in  a  con- 
demnation suit,  would  it  be  the  truest  test  of  value,  if  the  ex- 
pert witness  would  be  allowed  to  be  asked  before  the  court  and 
jury  whether  it  was  used  for  railroad  purposes  or  whether  the 
land  was  just  valued  at  its  market  value  without  reference  to 
the  railroad"? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Both  questions  might  be  asked,  but  the 
question  of  value  under — 

Mr.  Goldstine:    Wliich  would  be  the  test? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Under  the  authorities  the  value  of  the 
land  is  the  best  uses  it  could  be  put  to — the  best  use  it  could  be 
put  to  at  that  time. 

Mr.  Goldstine:    But  not  a  speculative  use  in  the  future? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  But  this  is  immediately  to  be  turned  over 
to  the  Illinois  Central. 


176 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :    If  there  were  proceedings  in  court — 

Mr.  Rosenthal.:  We  are  not  dealing  with  a  theoretical 
•ondition. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  You  must  deal  with  the  matter  as  to  its 
value  for  commercial  purposes. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  If  this  was  to  be  sold  to  Tom  Jones  or 
some  one  else  the  question  might  be  an  entirely  different  one 
than  if  it  was  being  sold  to  the  Illinois  Central. 

Aid.  Block:  Are  the  figures  stated  in  your  report  based 
upon  a  good  and  sufficient  title? 

Mr.  Goldstine:  These  values  are  not  based  upon  a  good 
and  sufficient  title,  but  upon  made  lands  ready  for  the  market, 
and  values  that  will  be  borne  out  by  actual  sales  and  property 
to  be  sold  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  proposed  im- 
provement along  its  entire  line. 

Aaeon  M.  McI^y:  Mr.  Chairman,  in  the  line  of  real  es- 
tate that  I  follow  I  probably  have  had  more  to  do  with  railroad 
values  in  land  in  railroad  use  than  any  other  man  for  the  past 
twenty  years.  Mr,  Rosenthal  seeks  to  convey  the  idea  that 
after  land  passes  from  private  ownership  into  the  railroad  that 
then  that  land  takes  on  a  value  which  is  much  in  excess  of  the 
lawful  cash  market  value.  In  theory,  while  I  know  it  is  so  ex- 
pressed by  the  Supreme  Court,  that  land  once  in  a  railroad  has 
not  a  cash  market  value  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the 
term,  but  in  the  practicality  of  the  matter  there  is  not  a  case 
to  the  contrary  where  railroads  have  sold  to  each  other  and 
exchanged  property,  but  that  in  every  instance  the  value  of 
that  land  while  in  railroad  use  is  precisely  the  cash  market 
value  of  that  land  for  any  and  all  uses.  It  is  also  true  that  in 
lessor  companies  like  the  Illinois  Central  that  leases  the  Big 
Four,  West  Michigan  and  Michigan  Central,  the  land  is  fixed 
by  the  ascertainment  of  the  cash  market  value  of  that  property 
for  all  uses,  including  railroad  use.  The  next  thing  that  comes 
up  as  an  object  lesson  is  wherein  the  Chicago  and  Western 
Indiana  sold  railroad  property  to  the  Sanitary  District  for  the 
widening  of  the  river.  We  got  cash  market  value  and  nothing 
else,  and  then  the  extremely  large  strip  of  land  from  Twelfth 
to  Sixteenth  Streets  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river, 
the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  the  Northwestern  Rail- 
road both  sold  to  the  Sanitary  District  for  exactly  mar- 
ket value.  The  railroads  in  reconstructing  their  ter- 
minals had  to  trade  and  sell  property  to  each  other, 
which  was  fixed  exactly  on  the  basis  of  cash  market  value.  The 
same  tiling  occurred  in  the  long  strip  of  property  paralleling 
Taylor  Street  from  Canal  to  Ashland  Avenue  between  the  Pan- 
handle and  the  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul,  and  two  real  estate  men 
here  fixed  that  value  on  which  the  railroads  settled.    In  other 


J 


177 

words,  this  idea  of  hidden  or  unknown  vahie  when  in  owner- 
ship and  use  by  railroads  is  something  that  nobody  has  ever 
been  able  to  discover,  and  I  have  never  seen  a  railroad  man 
yet  who  ever  could  express  tangibly  or  in  dollars  and  cents 
what  any  piece  of  land  was  worth  as  a  railroad  proposition. 

Thereupon  the  committee  adjourned  to  meet  on  Tuesday, 
January  30,  1912,  at  3  o  'clock  p.  m. 


PBOCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  HARBORS,  WHARVES  AND  BBn)Gl» 
OF  THE   CITY  COUNCIL  OF  CHICAGO. 

Tuesday,  January  30,  1912,  3  o'clock  p.  m. 


The  chairman,  Alderman  Littler,  called  the  meeting  to  or- 
der. 

Secretary  Harrah  called  the  roll,  showing  the  following 
members  of  the  committee  present:  Aldermen  Littler,  Long, 
Nance,  Buckley,  Kunz,  Brennan,  Geiger,  Block,  Forsberg  and 
Hey. 

The  Chairman  :  The  first  speaker  this  afternoon  whom  I 
will  call  on  to  address  this  committee  will  be  Mr.  Louis  A. 
Damon. 

Mr.  Louis  A.  Damon:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  a  summary 
here  which  I  have  prepared,  which  in  a  few  words  seems  to 
me  to  sum  up  the  situation  from  the  standpoint  of  the  moral 
question  involved. 

Aid.  Geiger  :    I  would  like  to  ask  whom  you  represent. 

Mr.  Damon  :  Simply  myself  as  a  South  Side  citizen.  I  am 
the  publisher  of  a  little  bulletin.  I  simply  represent  myself  as 
a  citizen  living  along  the  lake  shore.  I  have  lived  two  years 
overlooking  the  Illinois  Central  and  have  been  making  a  study 
of  the  whole  situation  both  from  the  standpoint  of  harbor  im- 
provement, subway  improvement  and  lake  front  improvement, 
and  in  fact,  so  far  as  I  could,  other  things  which  enter  into  the 
making  up  of  the  Chicago  Plan. 

Aid.  Geiger  :  Are  you  the  owner  of  property  on  the  South 
Side? 

Mr.  Damon  :  No,  sir,  I  am  not  a  property  owner.  I  am  a 
citizen  doing  all  I  can  to  help  along  the  work  that  seems  neces- 
sary. I  have  summed  up,  as  well  as  I  could,  the  outline  of  the 
moral  features. 

It  is  true  that  the  city,  through  prolonged  litigation,  might 
ultimately  wrest  from  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  the  riparian 


178 

rights  which  the  railroad  claims,  and  the  city  thereby  become 
the  owner  of  lands  to  which  the  railroad  now  claims  owner- 
ship; but  to  continue  such  a  fisjht  for  the  sake  of  the  additional 
property  which  mii>ht  thus  be  secured,  would  not  be  worth 
while  in  view  of  the  things  which  would  in  the  meantime  be  lost 
to  the  city. 

As  things  now  stand  we  are  offered  an  opportunity,  through 
arbitration,  as  it  were,  to  settle  a  question  which  would  other- 
wise have  to  be  fought  out  in  the  courts,  and  from  a  stand- 
point of  actual  value  it  will  be  worth  more  to  Chicago  and  will 
be  worth  more  to  the  world  at  large,  if  the  more  peaceful  meth- 
od wins. 

If  this  dispute  is  settled  by  the  means  at  hand,  it  is  true 
that  such  settlement  will  be  to  a  certain  extent  a  violation  of 
good  morals  from  the  standpoint  of  those  who  would  insist  on 
following  out  the  stricter  form  of  procedure. 

There  are  moral  reasons  for  supporting  this  proposition 
and  there  are  also  moral  reasons  for  opposing  it.  There  is  a 
moral  value  in  the  principle  of  settling  disputes  outside  the 
courts  wherever  possible,  and  in  this  particular  instance  T  be- 
lieve that  the  proposed  method  of  reaching  a  settlement  has  the 
greater  moral  value  of  the  two  methods  which  might  be  em- 
ployed. 

The  questions  of  riparian  ownership  and  the  amount  of 
land  and  water  which  the  Illinois  Central  will  secure  through 
this  transaction  are,  both  together,  of  lesser  importance  than 
is  the  matter  of  securing  a  speedy  settlement  of  the  problems 
involved  through  the  means  at  hand. 

T  therefore  respectfully  urge  the  passage  of  the  ordinance. 

Aid.  Block:    What  is  your  occupation? 

Mr.  Damon:  I  am  the  publisher  of  a  bulletin  called  the 
Chicago  Way.  I  might  explain  in  that  respect  that  last  summer 
I  took  up  the  matter  of — I  would  say  first  that  I  was  working 
with  the  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce,  Water  Division, 
last  summer,  and  on  the  30th  of  June,  at  the  time  the  Associa- 
tion of  Commerce  held  their  excursion  for  the  sons  of  members, 
I  was  one  of  the  guides,  and  as  we  were  coming  between  the 
river  here  and  South  Chicago,  the  Calumet  District,  as  we  call 
it  out  there,  reaching  about  Thirty-ninth  Street,  there  seemed 
to  be  given  to  me  a  picture  of  what  might  be,  and  when  I  came 
back  home  T  decided  I  would  go  ahead  and  make  a  little  effort 
so  far  as  I  could  to  secure  results  for  the  betterment  of  the 
south  shore,  having  in  mind,  as  far  as  I  could,  the  provisions 
laid  down  in  the  Chicago  Plan.  The  first  and  best  angle  which 
I  could  see  was  to  take  it  up  from  the  standpoint  of  a  South 
Side  organization  which  would  represent  property  owners  and 
citizens,  and  to  organize  a  public  sentiment  looking  forward  to 


179 

the  development  of  the  South  Side  along  the  line  of  the  Chicago 
Plan,  and  with  that  idea  in  view  I  started  a  petition  and  secured 
on  that  petition  100  names  stating  the  specific  things  which  we 
intended  to  do  within  that  organization.  We  proposed  to  do 
what  we  could  towards  securing  early  electrification  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central,  and  to  study  the  natural  subdivisions  of  our  great 
city  and  to  secure  easy  access  to  the  lake  shore  and  facilities 
which  may  be  provided  along  the  lake  front.  We  called  a  meet- 
ing for  the  purpose  of  creating  an  organization  on  the  22d  of 
September,  and  just  before  the  meeting  was  held  I  had  a  confer- 
ence with  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Butler,  and  it  seemed  best,  con- 
sidering everything,  that  we  should  not  organize  something  that 
might  duplicate  an  organization  which  was  then  being  formed, 
so,  by  mutual  consent,  we  called  off  the  meeting,  and  since  then 
I  have  been  doing  what  I  could  individually  along  this  line,  pub- 
lishing a  bulletin  from  time  to  time  dealing  with  the  matter, 
and  sending  it  to  the  people  so  they  might  not  lose  interest. 
We  hope  negotiations  will  be  settled  and  we  will  know  upon 
what  basis  to  take  up  our  work,  and  we  will  carry  out  the  pro- 
visions which  will  be  called  for.    I  thank  you,  gentlemen. 

The  Chairman  :  The  secretary  has  a  communication  from 
a  gentleman  present,  who  has  asked  me  to  have  the  secretary 
read  it  instead  of  himself. 

(The  secretary  read  the  following  communication  from  Ad- 
dison Blakely,  631  Groveland  Park,  Chicago:) 

To  the  Chairman  and  Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges. 

Gentlemen:  According  to  the  report  of  the  Real  Estate  Board  sub- 
mitted to  your  honorable  body  yesterday,  the  net  excess  value  of  land  ac- 
quired by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  over  the  value  of  the  land 
transferred  to  the  South  Park  Board  is  $4,859,302.  According  to  others,  the 
excess  value  is  estimated  $20,000,000  in  favor  of  the  Illinois  Central. 

In  either  case  this  excess  of  value  passing  to  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company  would  be  offset  by  the  benefit  accruing  to  the  South  Park 
Board  and  the  City  of  Chicago,  if  the  proviso  limiting  the  crossing  over  the 
present  and  added  right  of  way  to  four  crossings  per  mile  were  to  be  struck 
out  of  the  ordinance;  and,  instead  of  such  provision,  provide  that  the  pres- 
ent right  of  way,  together  with  all  additional  right  of  way,  shall  be  covered 
over  with  a  sufficient  structure  to  support  an  automobile  and  carriage 
driveway  from  Randolph  Street  in  Grant  Park  to  Fifty-first  Street,  thus 
making  one  of  the  widest  and  most  beautiful  driveways  of  the  world,  be- 
tween the  two  lake  front  parks,  Grant  and  Jackson. 

At  the  same  time  such  an  arrangement  would  shut  off  all  of  the  ob- 
jectionable features — the  noise,  smoke  and  flying  dust  and  cinders  arising 
from  the  right  of  way  from  Randolph  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street,  and  would 
actually  restore  the  lake  shore  to  the  South  Side. 

Any  one  really  familiar  with  South  Side  values  knows  that  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  has  had  a  markedly  depressing  effect  upon  realty 
values  west  of  its  tracks,  and  that  a  plan  to  turn  this  right  of  way  into  a 
part  of  the  south  shore  park  plan,  in  reality  hiding  entirely  the  presence 
of  the  road  from  view,  and  restoring  the  whole  shore  line  to  the  South 
Side  population,  would  undoubtedly  add  millions  upon  millions  of  dollars 
of  value  to  South  Side  property. 


180 

This  plan  would  also  materially  add  to  the  beauty,  the  utility  and 
grandeur  of  the  Chicago  Plan,  which  the  Real  Estate  Board  urges  forward. 

As  long  as  the  Illinois  Central,  on  the  face  of  the  statement  made  by 
the  proponents  of  the  deal,  is  gaining  substantially  $5,000,000  by  the  ordi- 
nance, let  us  incorporate  the  overhead  boulevard  plan,  which  would  un- 
questionably make  the  deal  a  business  proposition  on  both  sides,  and  re- 
store to  the  South  Side  the  lake  shore,  enabling  them  to  receive  the  full 
benefit  of  the  1,500  acres  of  made  park  lands,  without  being  cut  off  by  the 
Illinois  Central  gorge,  belching  forth  its  noise,  its  smoke  and  its  cinders, 
destroying  property  values  and  depriving  the  people  of  the  immeasurable 
benefit  which  would  otherwise  be  theirs. 

Where  an  evil  can  be  turn  into  an  important  feature  of  a  beautiful  park 
system,  it  would  seem  to  be  worse  than  folly  to  neglect  the  opportunity. 

The  Chicago  City  Council  today  has  the  chance  to  make  a  master 
stroke  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  elimination  of  a  destroyer  of  property 
values,  and  turning  that  selfsame  evil  into  an  overhead  driveway  which 
would  be  an  invaluable  link  in  the  Chicago  Beautiful  Plan. 

Millions  upon  millions  can,  by  your  action,  be  added  to  South  Side 
values,  and  at  the  same  time  give  to  the  Illinois  Central  the  added  right  of 
way  needed  in  their  transportation  business. 

This  proposition  simply  evens  up  the  considerations  passing  between 
the  parties  involved,  but  at  the  same  time  each  party  is  immeasurably  ben- 
efited by  the  transaction,  and  Chicago  will  be  able  to  boast  of  a  driveway 
from  Grant  Park  to  Jackson  Park  unrivaled  in  any  of  the  park  systems  of 
the  world. 

Respectfully  suggested, 

Addison  Blakely, 
631  Groveland  Park. 

(One-half  block  west  of  the  Illinois  Central.) 

Chicago,  January  30,  1912. 

The  Chairman  :  We  will  now  have  the  pleasure  of  listen- 
ing to  Mr.  G.  A.  Hyers. 

Mr.  Gr.  A.  Hyees:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  what  I 
have  to  say  comes  right  in  line  with  what  Mr.  Blakely  says  in 
his  letter,  which  has  just  been  read.  I  have  here  in  my  hand  a 
petition  of  thirty  property  owners  along  Lake  Avenue,  who 
have  signed  this  petition,  and  the  wording  that  they  have  signed 
reads : 

The  undersigned  property  owners  and  citizens  of  Chicago  hereby  enter 
our  protest  against  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago  ratifying  a  pro- 
posed agreement  between  the  Commissioners  of  the  South  Parks  of  the  City 
of  Chicago  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  whereby  the  I.  C. 
R.  R.  Co.  are  to  receive  200  feet  additional  right  of  way  for  surface  tracks 
between  Twelfth  Street  and  Fifty-first  Street,  and  hope  that  the  City  Coun- 
cil will  not  pass  an  ordinance  endorsing  said  agreement  unless  it  be  so 
modified  as  to  put  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  in  a  subway. 

In  connection  with  that  I  want  to  say  a  few  words,  which 
I  did  not  say  the  other  day  when  I  made  the  speech  here.  I 
am  now  representing  property  owners  which,  I  imderstand, 
have  not  filed  their  petitions  against  this  ordinance  as  it  has 
been  presented  to  the  committee  of  the  Council,  and  T  want  to 
further  say  that  we  have  a  law  that  is  on  the  statute  books, 
granting  the  South  Park  Commission  the  right  to  make  a  bou- 


181 

levard  from  Twelfth  Street  south  through  the  parks  up  to 
Groveland  Park  and  Woodlawn  Park,  Douglas  Monument  Park 
into  Lake  Avenue,  and  from  there  to  Thirty-first  Street,  a  bou- 
levard along  the  shore.  That  was  tendered  to  the  South  Park 
Board  some  seven  or  eight  years  ago,  and  then  they  said  they 
had  not  the  means  to  put  a  boulevard  along  there.  Now  they 
are  going  to  establish  a  boulevard  that  is  going  to  be  out  nearly 
a  mile  from  the  shore  line.  How  are  we  going  to  get  to  that 
boulevard?  We  will  have  to  build  viaducts  at  least  900  to  1,200 
feet  long  to  reach  it,  and  it  will  take  longer  to  go  out  to  that 
boulevard  than  it  would  to  stay  on  a  car  and  go  to  Grant  Park 
or  go  to  Jackson  Park  or  see  the  museum  over  there.  Now, 
gentlemen,  I  do  not  see  where  there  is  a  great  advantage  about 
bringing  the  museum  downtown,  although  I  am  in  favor  of 
that,  but  when  you  come  to  figure  that  matter  you  are  going  to 
have  still  a  boulevard  that  you  will  have  to  go  out  to  on  stilts, 
that  the  people  cannot  get  to.  It  is  built  out  there  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  people,  but  how  are  they  going  to  get  out  there  ?  You 
people  can  use  that  boulevard  by  having  access  to  it  in  auto- 
mobiles and  carriages  through  Grant  Park.  How  is  it  going  to 
be  with  the  people  who  have  signed  these  petitions  ?  I  have  not 
asked  one  person  on  Lake  Avenue  to  sign  the  petitions  remon- 
strating against  this  ordinance  but  what  has  responded,  and  my 
fellow  citizens  down  there  have  not  had  an  opportunity  to  know 
what  the  facts  are  in  this  case.  They  are  all  blind  to  the  City 
Beautiful.  To  think,  gentlemen,  that  there  is  going  to  be  660 
feet  of  open  railway  tracks  that  are  going  to  be  shown  to  our 
foreign  visitors  as  one  of  the  curiosities  of  Chicago — the  beau- 
tiful 600  feet  of  tracks  that  we  are  going  to  have  along  the 
lake  front  to  show  to  our  foreign  visitors  when  they  come  to 
see  us  and  spend  their  money. 

I  want  to  say  further  regarding  the  South  Side  park.  Most 
of  the  gentlemen  who  are  advocating  this  ordinance  live  on  the 
North  Side.  We  on  the  South  Side  have  been  trying  to  do  away 
with  the  smoke.  We  have  been  trying  to  do  away  with  it 
through  the  Woman's  Commission.  We  have  not  been  able  to 
get  a  fair  hearing  before  the  Council  because  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral or  the  Northwestern  would  pack  any  meeting  we  would 
have  with  400  or  500  engineers  and  firemen  who  would  set  up 
the  plea  that  thousands  of  railroad  men  living  in  Chicago  would 
be  thrown  out  of  work,  and  consequently  we  were  smoked  out 
of  the  meeting.  Do  you  know  what  the  people  along  the  South 
Side  have  in  the  way  of  parks  ?  I  heard  a  man  say  that  the  land 
between  Twelfth  and  Forty-seventh  Streets  was  of  no  value.  I 
know  of  a  property  owner  down  there  who,  if  this  boulevard 
goes  through  there,  will  sell  his  property  for  $10,000  less  than 
it  cost  him,  because  it  will  deteriorate  his  property.    It  is  not 


•   182 

fair  and  it  is  not  ri,i»ht.  We  have  parks  along  the  South  Side. 
We  have  Groveland  Park  at  Thirty-seventh;  Woodlawn  Park 
between  Thirty-fourth  and  Thirty-fifth.  We  have  the  Doui^las 
Monument  Park,  and  then  the  South  Park  a  block  from  Thirty- 
sixth  Street,  and  we  have  Ellis  Park,  a  block  from  Cottage 
Grove  Avenue,  and  then  we  go  on  down  to  Thirty-ninth  and  we 
have  a  park  right  in  front  of  the  depot  station.  At  Oakwood 
Boulevard  we  have  a  park.  The  Oakwood  Park  is  a  beautiful 
l^ark  in  the  summer  time,  from  Thirty-ninth  and  Oakwood  Bou- 
levard clear  to  Fifty-first.  Then  you  go  to  Fiftieth  and  Mad- 
ison Avenue,  we  have  Madison  Park.  We  are  not  suffering  on 
the  South  Side.  What  we  want  is  a  boulevard  along  the  shore. 
My  proposition  is  to  put  the  Blinois  Central  in  a  subway,  get 
them  forty  or  fifty  feet  underground.  I  have  no  prejudice 
against  the  Illinois  Central.  I  am  willing  to  let  them  have  all 
the  ground  below  the  earth  they  want,  but  let  us  have  our  bou- 
levard. Ijet  us  have  it  over  their  right  of  way,  and  let  the 
railroad  go  through  a  50-foot  tunnel  from  Twelfth  to  Fifty-first. 
That  would  give  them  an  elegant  right  of  way,  and  over  that 
right  of  way  build  a  boulevard  along  the  lake  shore,  and  the 
people  will  have  something  I  think  they  will  thank  you  for. 

I  do  not  think  of  anything  more,  gentlemen.  I  know  that 
the  building  of  a  boulevard  out  there  is  one  of  the  most  gigantic 
schemes  that  has  been  entertained  in  this  country  in  many  years. 
I  do  not  believe  that  we  could  build  a  retaining  wall  out  there 
that  would  stand  against  some  of  the  storms  we  have.  If  you 
will  go  down  to  the  Illinois  Central  and  see  the  piles  of  ice  there, 
with  the  wind  behind  those  piles  of  ice  I  do  not  think  that  any 
wall  w^ould  stand  that  battering  ram.  That  has  been  shown  on 
the  north  shore.  The  wall  on  the  north  shore  was  torn  out  by 
the  waves.  Gentlemen,  they  would  have  to  build  a  wall  almost  of 
adamant  to  keep  it  in  that  lake.  Then  again  they  are  going  to 
take  the  lake  from  us.  That  is  one  of  the  things  I  do  not  be- 
lieve they  have  a  right  to  do.  They  are  going  to  make  a  lagoon 
down  there  fed  by  a  few  openings  through  this  wall.  What  kind 
of  water  will  they  have  in  that  lagoon  in  a  few  years'?  It  will 
be  refreshed  by  a  hole  once  in  a  while  through  the  walls,  but 
what  kind  of  health  will  we  have  along  there  with  that  kind  of 
water  standing  there  stagnant,  as  it  will  be  from  year  to  year? 
I  was  amused  at  Mr.  Butler  yesterday  afternoon.  Mr.  Butler 
made  a  speech  here  telling  us  about  the  poor  children  mounted 
upon  that  Logan  Monument  down  on  the  lake  front.  My  fellow 
citizens,  I  wash  you  could  have  been  where  I  was  today.  I  went 
down  to  see  the  President  of  the  Illinois  Central  to  see  whether 
he  would  not  entertain  my  proposition.  I  took  the  bull  by  the 
horns.  I  went  right  to  the  President  of  the  road  and  I  had  a 
talk  with  him  for  nearly  an  hour  before  I  came  here,  to  see 


183 

whether  he  would  not  approve  of  my  idea.  While  I  was  in  his 
office  I  looked  out  upon  that  desert  waste  of  Grant  Park  that  we 
have  been  building  for  ten  years,  and  what  have  they  got?  Why, 
gentlemen,  don't  they  finish  that  up  and  give  it  to  the  poor  chil- 
dren to  go  out  and  play  in,  but  instead  of  doing  that  they  are 
going  to  build  a  stadium  there.  What  do  we  want  of  a  stadium? 
It  is  all  right  for  an  occasion  like  this  of  last  summer.  I  remem- 
ber that  during  that  meeting  I  never  saw  any  great  crowds  in 
Grant  Park.  I  never  saw  a  time  when  the  people  did  not  have 
plenty  of  room  or  when  Grant  Park  was  filled.  There  was 
always  room  for  thousands.  I  think  if  some  of  the  empty  space 
was  filled  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the  South  Side.  It  would 
give  us  Grant  Park  as  it  should  be — a  park  instead  of  a  desert. 

If  you  think  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the  Park  Commis- 
sioners to  reserve  their  rights  along  the  lake  shore,  Mr.  Comer- 
ford  might  tell  us  whether  that  law  is  still  in  force  that  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  some  eight  or  ten  years  ago,  giving 
them  the  right  to  build  along  the  shore  inside  of  the  Illinois 
Central  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Thirty-fifth.  I  think  their  right 
is  still  in  force,  I  do  not  think  it  was  ever  repealed.  One  of  my 
neighbors,  who  is  dead,  worked  for  many  years  to  have  that 
passed  by  the  Legislature.  I  know  that  Mr.  Donnersberger  was 
one  of  the  Commissioners  at  that  time,  and  he  ought  to  know 
whether  the  law  is  still  in  force. 

I  thank  you  kindly. 

The  Chairman  :    Mr.  Thomas,  do  you  wish  to  be  heard  now? 

Mr.  G.  W.  Thomas:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the 
committee,  at  some  personal  sacrifice  I  came  today. 

The  Chairman  :    Whom  do  you  represent,  Mr.  Thomas? 

Mr.  Thomas  :  I  represent  myself  as  a  taxpayer.  I  came  to 
represent  my  properties  and,  also,  I  regard  it  my  duty  as  a 
citizen. 

You  have  just  heard  the  petition  read  from  thirty  of  the 
residents  of  Lake  Avenue  protesting  against  the  proposition.  I 
protest  as  a  taxpayer  and  voter  against  the  passage  of  the  ordi- 
nance. I  protest  against  the  contract;  I  protest  against  the  Act 
of  the  Legislature.  I  protest  first  against  the  ordinance  for  the 
reason  that  by  implication  the  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago 
surrenders  its  rights  to  cross  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad.  It  can  condemn  the  right  of  way  across  their  tracks 
and  break  down  the  Chinese  wall.  I  protest  against  the  ordi- 
nance for  the  reason  that  in  my  opinion  it  is  a  covert  attempt  to 
extend  the  charter  right  of  the  railroad  by  an  ordinance. 

Now  I  am  in  the  same  position — that  I  am  a  layman  and 
possibly  Mr.  Long  will  object  to  what  I  say,  but  I  think  most 
lawyers  would  be  willing  to  admit  that  when  a  railroad  has  been 
chartered  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  passengers  and  freight 


184 

with  a  right  of  way  prescribed,  they  cannot  exceed  that  right  or 
go  beyond  it.  They  cannot  enlarge  their  right  of  way  by  virtue 
of  an  ordinance.  Now  that  is  all  I  care  to  say  about  the  ordi- 
nance. 

Now  with  regard  to  this  contract,  if  anyone  has  read  the  con- 
tract carefully  he  will  see  that  the  contract  is  an  interminable 
waste  of  legislation  to  be  brought  about  before  you  can  get  any 
City  Beautiful.  I  am  in  favor  of  the  City  Beautiful.  I  have 
seen  this  city  rise  from  the  mud.  I  played  on  this  ground  when 
it  was  used  for  a  public  school.  I  have  seen  four  courthouses 
built  here  on  Randolph  Street.  Within  the  sound  of  my  voice  I 
have  seen  the  teams  stuck  in  the  mud  with  the  sign  up  *'No  bot- 
tom." I  have  seen,  as  I  say,  Chicago  raised  from  the  mud.  I 
am  proud  of  the  Chicago  spirit.  I  am  proud  of  Mr.  Butler  and 
I  am  proud  of  the  irrepressibility  of  Mr.  Wacker  and  every  man 
that  is  working  for  the  City  Beautiful,  but  I  do  not  believe  that 
this  proposed  method  of  adjusting  this  matter  is  at  all  feasible. 

With  regard  to  this  contract  I  want  to  say  to  the  gentlemen 
that  I  do  not  think  they  will  see  the  Field  Museum  built  very 
soon,  for  the  reason  that  this  contract,  made  in  favor  of  the  rail- 
road, provides  that  the  passage  of  the  ordinance  by  the  city 
granting  the  road  the  right  to  use  all  of  this  ground — made 
ground —  if  they  secure  it,  is  made  a  condition  absolute,  that  if 
you  do  not  pass  this  ordinance  the  contract  will  not  go ;  and 
moreover  until  you  have  had  the  right  to  that  dividing  line  be- 
tween the  property  of  the  railroad  and  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners established  by  law,  the  rest  does  not  go ;  you  do  not  get 
any  deed  out  there  and  you  do  not  get  any  site  for  your  Field 
Museum.  They  say  that  five  years  afterwards,  or  rather  when 
they  get  that  established,  they  will  make  a  deed  and  then  they 
will  secure  the  real  estate  from  a  mortgagee.  Now  there  is  a 
chance  for  a  guarantee;  there  is  a  chance  for  a  ratification. 
The  ordinance  which  has  been  presented  to  you  gentlemen 
is  absurd  upon  its  face.  How  could  you  get  the  city  to 
ratify  a  contract  made  by  two  other  parties?  How  can  yon 
agree  to  ratify  a  contract  that  you  were  a  party  to?  I  cannot 
understand. 

That  is  all  I  have  to  say  about  the  contract  except  that  the 
contract  rests  upon  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  which  is  without 
authority.  How  in  the  world  can  the  Legislature  vest  title,  of 
the  public  waters,  in  a  private  citizen  or  a  private  corporation? 
How  could  they  do  it?  The  Supreme  Court  of  this  State  in  the 
case  of  The  City  of  Chicago  vs.  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
distinctly  held  that  the  title  to  the  submerged  waters  of  the  lake 
was  held  in  trust  for  the  people  and  cannot  be  bargained  or  sold. 
When  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  was  built  there  was  a  gov- 
ernment grant,  and  they  had  alternative  sections  of  land  and 


185 

they  could  sell  it,  but  the  Supreme  Court  says  that  the  case  is 
altogether  different  here.  It  says  that  the  submerged  land  be- 
longs to  the  people  and  is  held  for  the  people,  and  cannot  be  bar- 
gained and  sold  like  the  government  land.  Now,  when  they  un- 
dertake to  establish  this  dividing  line  in  the  courts,  the  Act  pre- 
cisely provides  that  a  taxpayer  may  come  in  and  say  "I  do  not 
know  what  right  these  people  have  to  this  land. ' '  What  answer 
can  you  make?  If  that  is  true,  that  they  could  not  get  that,  what 
in  the  world — what  in  the  world  is  your  ordinance  worth?  Why 
do  they  want  it?  What  would  it  amount  to  if  they  could  not 
get  this  land  under  any  circumstances?  When  the  gentlemen 
are  figuring  here  on  this  submerged  land  which  they  cannot  get 
and  could  not  get,  are  you  not  wasting  time  if  you  pass  an 
ordinance  resting  upon  a  contract  and  resting  upon  an  Act  of 
the  Legislature  which  is  invalid  and  which  the  court  must  hold 
invalid?  This  is  just  simply  the  opinion  of  the  layman.  If  you 
are  not  satisfied,  if  Alderman  Long  is  not  satisfied  (he  is  the 
legal  member  of  your  board),  let  him  ask  the  Corporation  Coun- 
sel whether  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois  can  give  this 
public  land  to  a  private  corporation  in  fee  with  the  right  to  sell 
it  to  anybody?  It  is  a  different  thing,  mind  you,  if  the  State 
Legislature  grants  to  a  public  corporation  like  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  the  right  to  use  that  land,  but  they  can  only  use 
it  for  a  public  purpose  and  that  to  my  mind  is  perfectly  within 
their  province. 

Now  I  want  to  suggest  this :  It  is  perfectly  proper  for  this 
Council  to  open  every  one  of  the  streets.  When  I  was  a  little 
boy  we  used  to  play  in  Dearborn  Park — a  playground.  Then, 
across  the  street  at  Michigan  Avenue  my  father  lived.  His  house 
was  on  the  corner.  We  could  look  at  the  lake.  We  could  go 
down  there  and  gather  stones  and  we  did  not  have  anything  to 
disturb  our  pleasure  at  all.  We  did  not  have  any  railroad  in 
those  days  at  all ;  we  had  vessels  and  canal  boats.  By  and  by  the 
Illinois  Central  came  and  fixed  their  terminus  down  at  Thir- 
teenth Street.  They  came  down  along  the  lake  and  cut  off  the 
vista  by  virtue  of  an  ordinance  of  the  Common  Council  of  the  City 
of  Chicago.  I  live  at  Forty-first  Street  and  when  I  want  to  show 
my  grandchild  the  lake,  I  have  to  boost  him  up  to  look  over  the 
wall.  At  Oakwood  Boulevard  when  the  property  was  subdivided, 
we  were  to  have  access  to  the  lake;  it  is  walled  up.  Do  you 
think  any  other  city  in  the  country  or  the  world  would  submit 
to  such  a  thing  as  that — that  a  railroad  should  wall  you  in  so 
you  could  not  get  to  the  lake  front?  Today  the  Common  Coun- 
cil of  the  City  of  Chicago  can  open  every  one  of  those  streets 
and  they  can  require  the  Illinois  Central  to  put  a  flagman  at 
each  of  the  streets.  If  they  do  not  like  that  they  can  put  their 
tracks  underground. 


186 

Yon  talk  about  tlie  police  power  of  the  city  requiring]:  the 
road  to  dopress  its  tracks  and  reonirino:  roads  to  elevate  their 
tracks,  bnt  there  is  no  snch  anthority  on  the  lake.  If  the  Com- 
mon Conncil  wanted  to  do  so.  they  eonld  open  those  streets  and 
have  g-ates  at  the  streets,  and  these  srentlemen  who  are  anxious 
to  have  the  City  Beantifnl  conld  join  with  Mr.  Rosenthal  and 
with  the  Governor  of  the  State,  and  ask  to  have  an  Act  that 
would  stand  fire,  and  would  allow  the  South  Park  Commission- 
ers to  take  the  bed  of  the  lake  in  a  perfectly  lawful  manner  and 
condemn  whatever  land  the  road  mav  have  with  all  of  its  rights, 
whatever  they  may  be,  riparian  or  other. 

The  Chateman:  Is  there  any  other  gentlemen  here  who 
wishes  to  be  heard  at  this  time? 

Mr.  Lee:  I  have  a  communication,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  I 
would  like  to  read  to  the  committee. 

The  Chairman  :    All  right,  Mr.  Lee. 

(Mr.  Lee  read  the  following) : 

To  the  Chicago  City  Council  Committee.  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges: 

The  South  Chicago  Business  Men's  Association,  in  regular  meeting  as- 
sembled, having  authorized  a  special  committee  to  investigate  and  report 
upon  the  pending  contract  between  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
and  the  South  Park  Board,  relative  to  lake  front  lands,  and  the  committee 
having  made  such  investigation  and  reported  to  the  Executive  Committee 
at  its  regular  meeting  Monday,  January  29,  1912,  and  said  report  being 
concurred  in,  and  said  committee  being  unanimously  authorized  to  protest 
against  such  proposed  contract,  hereby  makes  the  following  statement  of 
facts. 

The  main  feature  of  the  proposed  contract  is  the  transferring  to  the 
I.  C.  R.  R.  of  upwards  of  160  acres  of  lake  front  submerged  land,  now  be- 
longing to  the  people,  in  exchange  for  the  alleged  riparian  rights  of  the 
said  railroad  company.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  re- 
peatedly ruled  to  the  effect  that  the  railroad  has  no  riparian  rights  along 
the  stretch  in  question,  except  where  it  owns  the  fee,  which  is  at  a  few 
scattered  points.  State,  county  and  city  officials  make  the  same  statement 
and  nothing  has  been  advanced  to  show  that  the  railroad  owns  any  riparian 
rights.  We  therefore  respectfully  protest  against  the  consummation  of  the 
proposed  contract,  for  the  reason  that  the  people  grant  much  and  receive 
nothing  in  return.  It  is  also  evident  that,  if  the  people  now  own  the  sub- 
merged land  adjoining  the  railroad,  the  South  Park  Board  has  the  right 
now  to  step  in  and  take  possession  of  this  land. 

We  respectfully  urge,  however,  that  first  the  South  Park  Board  should 
improve  the  vacant  park  sites  it  now  owns  in  the  Calumet  region  at  South 
Deering,  Hegewisch,  Fast  Side,  Burnside  and  Grand  Crossing,  for  which 
money  was  raised  by  bonds. 

Without  depriving  of  credit  the  members  who  first  informally  sug- 
gested the  matter,  the  proposition  to  compel  the  Illinois  Central  to  depress 
its  present  roadbed  is  heartily  endorsed,  and  we  understand  that  the  city 
can  easily  do  this,  as  the  road  does  not  hold  title  to  even  its  present  right 
of  way  between  Fifty-first  Street  and  Park  Row,  according  to  the  Chipper- 
field  Report,  page  183. 

In  any  event  the  South  Chicago  Business  Men's  Association,  through 
its  Executive   Committee  and   its   special   committee,   respectfully   protests 


187 

against  the   pending  contract  and   the   proposed   ratifying   ordinance  now 
before  your  committee. 

South  Chicago  Business  Men's  Association. 

NiEL  Lykke,  President. 
A.  L.  Blocker,  Secretary. 

Henry  W.  Lee, 
George  G.  Bender, 
E.   W.   Washburn, 
E.  O.  Rathbon, 
H.  W.  Lee, 

Special  Committee. 

George  G.  Bender, 
Chairman  Special  Committee. 

Mr.  Lee:  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  if  you  will  permit  me  to 
make  a  few  additional  remarks,  I  will  state  that  the  Illinois 
Central  has  been  in  the  business  of  stealing  lake  fronts  for  over 
a  half  century.  I  have  shown  you  before  how  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral came  on  piles  out  of  the  water,  and  how  it  benevolently  as- 
similated its  present  right  of  way.  In  1869  the  Legislature  pre- 
sented to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  a  large  tract  of  land,  and 
although  Governor  Palmer  vetoed  the  measure,  it  was  passed 
over  his  veto,  and  then  such  a  howl  of  public  disapproval  arose 
that  a  succeeding  Legislature  repealed  the  Act.  But  the  Illinois 
Central  does  not  confine  its  pilfering  to  lake  front  land,  but  it 
takes  public  streets  and  alleys  or  any  other  stray  land  that  hap-, 
pens  to  be  lying  around  loose.  About  two  or  three  years  ago, 
down  in  the  Kensington  District  the  Illinois  Central,  through  its 
sub-company,  the  Kensington  &  Eastern,  appropriated  a  public 
street  longitudinally  one  mile  in  length,  the  extension  of  Cottage 
Grove  Avenue  south  to  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth  Street,  and 
my  friend,  Mr.  Van  Vlissingen,  and  I  came  before  the  Trans- 
portation Committee  and  battled  for  some  thirty  days  with  that 
committee  and  with  the  aldermen  of  the  wards  and  with  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad,  and  finally  we  succeeded  in  getting  the 
committee  to  compel  the  Illinois  Central  to  buy  a  strip  of  land 
alongside  of  the  street  they  had  appropriated;  and  so,  Mr. 
Chairman,  it  is  no  new  thing  for  the  Illinois  Central  to  attempt 
to  steal  public  lands,  and  I  desire  to  say  as  a  man  of  some  ex- 
perience in  public  matters  that  when  we  hear  about  these  things, 
when  we  gain  first  information,  when  we  see  these  things  re- 
ported in  the  newspapers,  we  experienced  newspaper  men  and 
public  men  can  smell  them  as  they  are  coming,  just  as  an  ex- 
perienced newspaper  man  can  smell  a  paid  write-up  and  we 
know  there  is  something  doing,  and  the  old  quotation  comes  back, 
which,  in  English,  is:    ''I  fear  the  Greeks  even  bearing  gifts." 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  there  is  a  time  when  patience  ceases 
to  be  a  virtue.  When  this  thing  was  first  x^resented  before  the 
people  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  with  these  beautiful  full  page  and 


188 

half  page  pictures  of  the  Chicago  Beautiful,  and  these  beautiful 
lake  front  boulevards  and  the  lagoons  and  forests  and  gondolas, 
and  all  this  art,  and  beautiful  landscape  gardens  that  artists 
have  put  down  in  their  dreams — it  would  take  three  or  four  hun- 
dred years  and  three  or  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars  before 
this  thing  would  ever  be  perfected — at  that  time,  Mr.  Chairman, 
it  was  looked  upon  as  the  creature  of  Chicago  Beautiful,  and  a 
great  many  people  were  in  favor  of  tliis  tentative  arrangement. 
But  things  went  along,  and  finally  we  began  to  look  into  it,  and 
we  began  to  dig  here  and  we  began  to  dig  there,  and  we  began 
to  sift  things  down,  and  finally  we  found  out  that  the  question — 
the  main  question,  filtered  down  to  the  fact,  what  does  the 
Illinois  Central  own  on  the  lake  front?  Has  it  anything  to 
trade?  We  found  out,  according  to  the  best  authority,  and  I 
have  found  nobody  disputes  that  statement,  that  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral has  nothing  to  trade  on  the  lake  front.  Therefore,  Mr. 
Chairman,  we  thought  it  was  time  to  cry  ''Stop,  thief!"  and 
we  did  cry  ' '  Stop  thief, ' '  and  we  find,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  some 
of  the  people  who  are  trying  to  put  this  deal  through  are  keep- 
ing on,  and  they  are  trjdng  to  brazen  it  through,  and  I  want  to 
say,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  I  consider  this  attempt  now,  and  will 
henceforth  insist,  that  I  consider  it  an  outrage  to  attempt  to  put 
this  deal  through  further.  I  believe  that  the  City  of  Chicago  can 
force  the  Illinois  Central  to  depress  its  tracks  or  elevate  them 
as  it  sees  fit.  I  believe  it  can  extend  its  streets  through  to  the 
lake  front  without  any  further  trouble  whatsoever  by  con- 
demnation proceedings,  and  when  they  extend  them  through,  it 
can  force  the  railroad  to  put  flagmen  there  or  elevate  or  depress 
and  then  to  electrify,  1>ecause  I  do  not  believe  that  the  railroad 
owns  its  present  right  of  way,  and  I  think  it  is  a  very  good 
thing  that  this  thing  has  come  up  at  the  present  time,  because 
we  know  now  what  the  Illinois  Central  owns  and  know  what  we 
can  do. 

The  Chairman  :  Is  there  any  other  gentleman  present  who 
wishes  to  be  heard?    We  ^^11  hear  from  Mr.  Lathrop. 

Mr.  Bryan  Lathrop  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  had  written  a  letter 
addressed  to  your  committee,  and  learning  that  there  was  to  be 
a  meeting  I  thought  I  would  not  mail  the  letter,  but  would  bring 
it  here  and  read  it  to  you. 

(Mr.  Lathrop  read  the  following) : 

BRYAN  LATHROP, 

407  South  Dearborn  Street. 

Chicago,  January  29,  1912. 
The  Committee  0/  the  City  Council  on  Harbors.  Wharves  and  Bridges: 

Dear  Sirs:     It  seems  to  me  that  the  proposed  arrangement  between  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railway  Company,  sub- 


189 

ject  to  the  approval  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  is  the  most  important  questiom 
for  the  decision  of  the  people  in  the  history  of  Chicago.  As  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Lincoln  Park  had  a  very  small  problem  of  somewhat  similar 
nature,  I  hope  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  write  you  a  letter  in  regard  to  the 
matter. 

The  Commissioners  of  Lincoln  Park  were  authorized  by  Act  of  Legisla- 
ture to  make  extensions  to  the  park  over  the  submerged  lands  of  Lake 
Michigan,  on  the  express  condition,  however,  that  before  beginning  the 
work  of  extension,  they  should  first  acquire,  either  by  purchase  or  by  con- 
demnation, the  riparian  rights  of  the  shore  owners.  By  another  Act  of 
Legislature,  a  method  was  provided  by  which  the  courts  could  define  the 
boundary  line  between  such  extensions  of  the  park  and  the  lands  of  the 
shore  owners. 

The  sum  given  to  the  Commissioners  to  make  an  addition  of  some  250 
acres  to  Lincoln  Park  was  only  $1,000,000,  which  was  evidently  not  enough 
to  purchase  the  plant,  to  enable  us  to  do  the  work  economically  and  to 
complete  the  extension,  and  it  was,  therefore,  essential  that  we  should  use 
the  utmost  economy  in  our  expenditures.  Instead  of  resorting  to  the  costly 
expedient  of  court  proceedings  for  the  condemnation  of  the  riparian  rights, 
we  availed  ourselves  of  the  authority  under  the  second  Act  cited,  and 
after  a  year's  negotiation  agreed  with  the  property  owners  to  give  them  a 
strip  averaging  100  feet  in  width  of  the  submerged  lands,  and  for  a  portion 
of  the  frontage  we  agreed  to  fill  this  strip  to  a  prescribed  height.  In  this 
case  the  shore  owners  had  nothing  to  give  but  their  riparian  rights. 

When  the  Chipperfield  Legislative  Committee,  in  its  report  on  the  mis- 
use of  the  submerged  lands,  included  this  settlement  by  the  Commission- 
ers of  Lincoln  Park  in  its  general  attack  on  the  appropriation  of  sub- 
merged lands,  I  sent  a  letter  to  this  committee  explaining  the  whole  trans- 
action, defending  it  and  assuming  for  myself  the  entire  responsibility  for  it. 
I  took  the  ground  that,  as  the  State  owns  the  submerged  lands,  and  as  the 
State  will  own  the  park  extensions,  it  was  an  eminently  proper  and  judi- 
cious use  to  make  of  the  submerged  lands  to  apply  a  portion  of  them  to  ac- 
quire the  riparian  rights,  instead  of  taxing  the  people  to  pay  for  them. 

The  plan  submitted  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners  is  very  similar 
in  principle  to  the  above,  but  the  case  is  much  stronger  and  the  urgency 
much  greater.  What  the  Park  Commissioners  seek  to  acquire  is  not  merely 
the  riparian  rights  of  the  shore  owners,  but  some  very  valuable  tracts  of 
existing  land.  To  acquire  these  riparian  rights  and  these  tracts  of  land  by 
condemnation  would  involve  much  delay  and  costly  litigation  and  an  un- 
certain sum,  but  probably  several  millions  of  dollars.  It  seems  obvious 
that  it  is  a  wise  policy  to  acquire  these  tracts  of  land  and  the  riparian 
rights  by  giving  in  exchange  a  strip  of  submerged  lands,  thereby  securing 
without  delay  the  objects  aimed  at  by  the  Park  Commissioners  and  by 
avoiding  the  burden  upon  the  taxpayers  of  a  large  cash  payment. 

The  chief  objects  of  the  commissioners  are,  first,  to  secure  a  site  for 
the  Field  Museum  as  near  as  possible  to  the  center  of  the  city.  The  sec- 
ond object  is  to  begin  as  soon  as  possible  the  construction  of  a  breakwater 
between  Grant  Park  and  Jackson  Park,  so  as  to  take  advantage  of  the  ex- 
cavation from  the  subways  as  soon  as  they  are  begun,  and  of  the  dredging 
from  the  river,  which  is  now  being  dumped  into  Lake  Michigan,  to  the 
injury  of  our  water  supply. 

There  is  very  urgent  need  of  a  decision  as  to  the  site  of  the  Field 
Museum  without  delay,  since  plans  for  the  building  have  been  adopted  and 
contracts  for  it  have  been  let,  and  the  construction  is  only  delayed  tempo- 
rarily, pending  an  early  decision  as  to  the  site.  The  trustees  of  the  Museum 
are  committed  to  a  site  in  Jackson  Park  unless  in  the  near  future  another 
site  is  offered  to  them.  The  people  of  Chicago  are  vitally  interested  in 
having  a  site  given  to  the  Museum  at  Twelfth  Street. 

If  the  ordinance  now  before  the  City  Council  is  passed  substantially 
in  its  present  form,  Chicago  will  secure  five  and  one-half  miles  of  water 
frontage  unequaled  by  any  other  large  city  in  the  world.  With  the  pro- 
posed new  railway    station    at  Twelfth     Street  and    Michigan    Avenue,  the 


190 

Field  Museum  east  of  it  and  the  Great  Basin  of  Honor,  with  sites  for 
ether  fine  buildings  of  a  public  nature,  fronting  on  Grant  Park,  Chicago  will 
have  one  of  the  finest  architectural  settings  to  be  found  in  the  world. 

I  have  no  interest  in  the  Illinois  Central  Railway,  but  I  have  great 
interest  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  it  seems  to  me  clear  that  the  interests 
of  Chicago  demand  the  adoption,  without  any  avoidable  delay,  of  the  main 
features  of  the  plan  submitted  by  the  Park  Commissioners,  and  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  failure  to  carry  out  this  plan  will  be  a  great  calamity  to 
our  city. 

To  carry  out  the  exchange  proposed  by  the  plan  does  not  involve  one 
dollar  of  cost  to  tne  people,  and  I  regard  it  as  somewhat  immaterial  whether 
a  little  more  or  less  of  the  submerged  lands  is  given  to  secure  for  Chicago 
the  most  beautiful  feature  that  it  can  possibly  have. 

As  to  the  fear  that  the  railway  company  may  build  warehouses  over 
the  present  right  of  way  by  moving  its  tracks  onto  the  new  land,  I  think 
it  probable  that  all  railways  have  the  right  to  build  warehouses  and  similar 
structures  over  their  rights  of  way  above  the  movement  of  trains,  as  the 
New  York  Central  Railway  Company  is  building  great  structures  in  New 
York  over  its  wide  expanse  of  tracks  north  of  Forty-second  Street.  If  this 
is  the  case,  the  granting  of  a  wider  right  of  way  would  not  give  the  railway 
company  any  new  privilege  as  to  such  structures. 

There  is  always  danger  in  haggling  over  a  bargain.  I  fear  that  in  seek- 
ing to  make  a  better  bargain  with  the  railway  company  we  shall  lose  the 
opportunity  to  place  the  Field  Museum  on  Twelfth  Street.  It  would  be  an 
irremediable  injury  to  the  city  to  force  the  museum  to  build  miles  away 
from  the  center  and  to  deprive  the  people  of  easy  access  to  the  great  collec- 
tions of  natural  history,  with  all  their  educational  value. 

Permit  me  to  add  that  I  have  no  relation  whatever  with  the  railway 
company,  and  have  not  conferred  with  any  of  its  representatives  in  regard 
to  this  matter,  and  am  giving  you  merely  my  own  views  of  it. 

I  only  hope  that  the  great  importance  of  the  subject  may  excuse  the 
length  of  my  letter. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

Bryan  Lathrop. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :  Mr.  Lathrop,  the  Lincoln  Park  Com- 
missioners have  the  power  to  condemn,  have  they  not? 

Mr.  Lathrop  :    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :  Do  you  know  whether  the  Sonth  Park 
Commissioners  have  power  to  condemn  or  not? 

Mr.  Lathrop:  I  do  not  know,  but  my  impression  is  they 
have  the  same  power. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :  Do  you  not  think  your  power  to  con- 
demn is  because  they  are  shore  owners? 

Mr.  Lathrop:  It  took  me  a  year  to  ,a:et  the  shore  owners 
to  make  a,2^reements  with  me.  For  instance,  the  Lehmans,  they 
had  an  idea  they  would  get  enormous  damages.  At  first  they 
wanted  a  very  large  amount.  We  only  arrived  at  a  settlement 
after  lono:  negotiations. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :  If  you  could  not  agree,  you  could  con- 
demn the  property? 

Mr.  Lathrop  :    That  is  my  impression. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :    While  I  am  on  my  feet — 

The  Chairman  :  Can  you  give  the  idea  what  it  cost  the  Lin- 
coln Park  Board  to  acquire  the  riparian  rights? 


191 

Mr.  Lathrop  :  We  got  it  by  giving  a  100-foot  strip,  for  a 
half  a  mile.  There  was  urgency  there  to  go  on  with  the  work. 
I  think  the  people  were  anxious  to  have  it.  That  was  one  of 
the  concessions  we  made.  After  that  we  acquired  a  great  deal 
of  riparian  rights  for  park  extensions  there. 

The  CHAiRMAisr :  You  did  not  expend  any  money  for  riparian 
rights  ? 

Mr.  Lathrop  :    No,  not  a  dollar. 

A  Citizen  :  Does  not  your  experience  as  a  commissioner 
suggest  to  you  that  the  new  park  that  is  to  be  built  on  the  South 
Side  would  be  of  immeasurably  more  value  if  it  was  open  to  the 
people  with  boulevards  over  the  Illinois  Central  instead  of  hav- 
ing the  Illinois  Central  cut  the  South  Side  off  from  the  park 
system.  If  there  was  a  boulevard  built  over  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral for  its  entire  length,  opening  up  the  whole  of  the  South 
Side  to  the  whole  of  this  park,  would  it  not  be  of  immeasurably 
more  value  to  the  people  of  the  South  Side? 

Mr.  Lathrop:  I  fancy  it  would  be  a  very  good  thing  if  all 
the  railroads  could  be  put  out  of  sight.  I  don't  know  how  you 
are  going  to  get  at  it — how  you  are  going  to  get  them  all  under- 
ground. 

The  Citizen  :  Would  it  not  be  of  special  value  to  have  the 
railroads  not  cut  off  the  park  from  the  people?  Is  it  not  of 
£:rGater  value  to  have  a  track  below  the  surface  than  upon  the 
surface,  generally? 

Mr.  Lathrop:  As  I  understand  the  proposition  in  regard 
to  Grant  Park,  the  track  is  to  be  half  covered  over,  somewhat 
similar  to  the  way  they  have  it  in  Park  Avenue,  New  York.  The 
track  there  is  partly  opened,  but  is  closed  at  the  street  intersec- 
tions and  opened  the  whole  length  of  each  block,  and  there  is  a 
little  planting  alongside  so  that  the  passerby  is  not  conscious  of 
a  railway  being  there.  That  might  be  done  at  Grant  Park.  We 
are  planning  to  hide  tracks.  If  the  tracks  were  depressed,  of 
course,  that  will  be  easier  to  do.  A  little  planting  alongside 
would  conceal  them  entirely  from  view. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD:  You  said  that  by  analogy  of  business  men 
in  common  experience,  it  would  be  an  advisable  thing  to  settle 
disputes,  or  to  gather  in  claims  or  rights  by  contract  rather  than 
by  recourse  to  the  courts? 

Mr.  Lathrop:  No,  no,  I  didn't  say  that.  I  said  anv  busi- 
ness man  having  more  land  than  money  would  use  land  to  at- 
tain an  object,  using  a  piece  of  land  to  trade  rather  than  to  use 
money. 

Mr.  Comereord:     I  understood  you  to  say  that  the  Park 
Board  on  the  North  Side  had  the  right  of  condemnation. 
Mr.  Lathrop:    Yes.  sir. 
Mr.  CoMERFORD :     You  said,  instead  of  resorting  to  con- 


192 

demnation  in  the  courts  you  resorted  to  peaceful  contract  with 
the  owners  of  the  riparian  rights,  and  gave  them  some  consid- 
eration in  exchange  for  the  giving  of  the  riparian  rights  to  the 
North  Park  Commission  or  the  Lincoln  Park  Board. 

Mr.  Latheop:    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Comerford:  You  considered  that  it  was  good  business 
policy  to  resort  to  the  peaceful  method  rather  than  the  court 
method  because  of  the  time  and  expense.  In  the  cases  you  have 
in  mind  is  it  not  a  fact  that  you  knew  at  the  time  that  you 
parted  with  the  consideration  that  the  parties  had  riparian 
rights? 

Mr.  Lathrop:    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Comerford:    You  knew  that? 

Mr.  Lathrop:    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Comerford:  In  other  words,  as  a  commissioner  and 
trustee  of  the  people,  you  would  not  have  been  in  favor  of  giving 
something  to  someone,  of  value,  who  did  not  have  riparian 
rights? 

Mr.  Lathrop:  By  inference  I  presume  you  infer  there  are 
no  riparian  rights  to  the  South  Side.  I  never  heard  that  state- 
ment made  until  this  afternoon.  I  never  doubted  but  what  they 
had  riparian  rights.  I  never  heard  the  question  raised  that  they 
did  not  have  riparian  rights.  Gentlemen,  do  you  know  how  the 
Illinois  Central  came  to  Eandolph  Street?  I  came  here  in  1865 
and  the  city  was  talking  about  it  then.  The  City  of  Chicago  was 
poor.  The  lake  was  washing  away  the  land  on  the  lake  front  and 
they  said:  What  can  be  done  to  protect  it?  The  people  went  to 
tthe  Illinois  Central,  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council,  and  the 
population  of  Chicago,  and  they  said,  "Save  us,  you  build  a 
breakwater  out  here  to  protect  the  shore  of  the  city  and  you 
can  come  down  to  Eandolph  Street. ' '  That  was  the  history  of 
that  land  that  I  heard  when  I  was  a  boy  ten  years  old. 

Mr.  Comerford  :    Would  that  give  them  any  riparian  rights  ? 

Mr.  Lathrop:  Gentlemen,  I  am  not  going  into  the  legal 
question. 

Mr.  Comerford:  Suppose  they  have  no  riparian  rights, 
would  that  change  the  tone  of  your  letter  addressed  to  this  com- 
mittee? 

Mr.  Lathrop  :  What  they  had  then  would  be  only  the  lands 
they  owned. 

Mr.  Comerford  :  Then  that  would  be  a  question  of  the  ex- 
amination of  the  abstract  of  title. 

Mr.  Lathrop  :  I  fancy  they  could  get  an  opinion  from  the 
Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company  in  forty-eight  hours. 

Mr.  Comerford  :  Is  not  the  usual  method  of  determining  the 
rights  of  property  the  examination  of  the  records,  the  abstract 
of  title?    Did  you  ever  know,  in  your  experience  of  a  private 


193 

citizen,  of  any  man  buying  property,  or  anything  of  value,  not 
claiming  the  right  to  have  an  examination  made  of  the  abstract 
of  title? 

Mr.  Lathkop  :  The  usual  thing  in  all  railroad  transactions 
is  to  make  a  contract  of  sale  by  which  the  two  parties  agree  to 
make  a  sale  on  certain  terms  subject  to  the  examination  of  the 
title.  That  would  be  the  case  here  of  yours.  I  am  not  going  to 
take  up  much  of  your  time.  If  this  agreement  went  through,  of 
course,  it  would  be  subject  to  approval  of  title. 

Mr.  CoMEEFOED :  That  is  where  you  are  mistaken  (referring 
to  the  Illinois  Central  contract).  No  one  would  dispute  the 
fact,  as  I  now  state  it,  that  it  would  not  be  subject  to  suljsequent 
examination — the  subject  of  title"? 

Mr.  Latheop  :  They  might  make  that.  It  would  be  a  proper 
time  to  make  it. 

Mr.  CoMEEFOED :  Have  you  ever  had  an  opinion  of  title  on 
the  property  in  question? 

Mr.  Latheop  :    No. 

Mr.  CoMEEFOED :  Would  you  advise  that  the  City  of  Chicago 
should  confirm  certain  claims  that  the  Illinois  Central  now 
makes  without  an  examination  of  title  1 

Mr.  Latheop:    Do  you  mean  the  riparian  rights? 

Mr.  CoMEEFOED :    Yes,  property  rights. 

Mr.  Latheop  :  That  would  be  a  proper  inquiiy  to  be  made 
if  the  Council  had  any  doubts  as  to  there  being  a  title.  It  would 
be  a  proper  thing  to  have  that  matter  looked  into. 

Mr.  CoMEEFOED :  Is  it  the  custom  in  transactions  in  which 
people  part  with  a  valuable  consideration  to  ask  the  other  person 
about  his  title?  Is  it  not  the  practice  to  determine  the  title  in 
the  vendor  before  the  vendee  parts  with  the  consideration? 

Mr.  Latheop:    I  never  heard  of  any  cases. 

Mr.  Eedfield  :  I  have  refrained  from  even  suggesting  any- 
thing about  this  matter,  because  I  thought  it  was  unnecessary, 
but  it  is  really  right  that  this  committee  should  know  that  the 
Commissioners  have  considered  that  very  question ;  that  it  is  my 
purpose  to  furnish  this  committee  with  a  certificate  of  title  from 
the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company  as  to  the  ownership  of  the 
shore  land  between  Twelfth  and  Fiftj^-first  Street.  I  trust  that 
I  will  have  it  for  you  tomorrow. 

The  Chaieman  :  I  was  going  to  ask  Mr.  Comerford  if  he 
would  accept  the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company's  abstract  of 
title? 

Mr.  Eedfield:  Before  you  answer  the  chairman's  question 
I  want  to  suggest  for  his  consideration  that  possibly  the  State 
Court  in  determining  the  correctness  of  this  decree,  or  whether 
the  decree  should  be  entered,  would  go  into  the  question,  and,  in 
fact,  would  it  not  be  the  court's  duty  to  ascertain  the  other  ques- 


194 

tion  of  ownership  and  determine  these  other  questions  that  he 
has  so  wisely  and  so  intellis'ently  pnt  up  to  this  committee?  I 
refer  now  to  the  decree  under  this  boundary  Inw. 

Mr.  Wacker  :  I  remember  Mr.  Comerford  said  that  he  had 
so  little  time  to  look  into  this  whole  proposition  the  first  time  he 
was  here,  that  he  made  excuses  for  his  presentation  of  the  case ; 
I  would  like  to  ask  him  whether  he  has  looked  up  all  of  these 
questions  from  Twelfth  to  Fifty-first, 

Mr.  CoMERFOED :  In  answer  to  that  question  I  am  perfectly 
willing:  to  appear  before  the  committee  if  the  Corporation  Coun- 
sel will  appear  and  say  that  the — 

Mr.  Wacker  :  Please  answer  my  question.  Did  you  ex- 
amine this  question  of  title  to  ascertain  the  rights  of 
the — the  riparian  rights  along  the  strip  from  Twelfth  to  Fifty- 
first?    You  always  insist  upon  yes  or  no. 

Mr.  Comerford:  I  am  not  sure,  Mr.  Wacker,  that  I  under- 
stand what  you  understand  when  you  use  the  words,  "the  ex- 
amination of  title." 

Mr.  Wacker:  Have  you  personally  investigated  and  know 
to  whom  the  riparian  rights  belong,  from  Twelfth  to  Fifty-first 
Streets?    That  is  a  simple  question. 

Mr.  Comerford  :  I  know  this,  that  under  the  Supreme  Court 
decisions  of  the  United  States  the  Illinois  Central  never  owned 
the  land  granted  in  Section  3.  Can  it  have  a  riparian  right? 
That  is  proposition  No.  1. 

A  Citizen  :  Will  you  give  the  Corporation  Counsel  those 
decisions? 

Mr.  Comerford:  Offhand?  T  have  not  them  with  me.  I 
have  them  in  my  office. 

The  Citizen  :  Do  vou  refer  to  anything  outside  of  the  case 
in  the  146th? 

Mr.  Comerford:  Yes,  there  are  a  number  of  cases  touch- 
ing the  same  proposition.    That  is  one  case. 

Aid.  Long:    Are  there  any  other  cases? 

Mr.  Comerford:  I  am  willing  to  assume  the  responsibility 
of  furnishing  a  brief  if  some  one  first  furnishes  some  reason 
in  law  for  saying  they  have  title,  and  I  think  it  is  unfair  to  suggest 
to  me  that  the  burden  is  on  the  protestant  here  to  show  that  the 
Illinois  Central  has  any  title.  When  I  go  out  and  buy  a  piece 
of  property  in  the  market,  it  is  up  to  me  to  prove  to  the  per- 
son selling  the  property  that  I  have  the  valuable  consideration 
to  give  him  to  pay  for  it,  and  it  is  up  to  that  man  to  prove  to 
me  that  he  has  the  title  to  the  property.  Now  the  proposition  I 
have  made  to  your  committee  is  simply  this,  that  you  have  a 
law  department;  you  have  a  Corporation  Counsel;  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  have  an  attoraev,  Mr.  Redfield,  and  this 
contract  has  been  submitted  here,  and  although  in  connection 


195 

with  this  contract  an  original  draft  of  an  ordinance  was  submit- 
ted, no  one  yet  has  submitted  any  examination  of  the  title  to  that 
property,  showing  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  a  title,  and  it  is 
not  up  to  me  to  point  flaws  in  the  Tlinois  Central's  title  until 
some  one  comes  in  here  and  tells  you  that  its  title  is  good.  That 
is  a  proposition  that  is  sound  in  general  business  and  so'^nd  in 
morals,  and  there  is  no  lawyer  here  that  has  ever  entered  into 
a  transaction  from  a  ditTerent  roint  of  view,  and  there  is  not  a 
business  man  here  that  has  ever  entered  into  a  business  ■'^rans- 
action  from  any  other  angle,  and  you  have  no  right  to  nsl'  this 
question.  Are  our  trustees  to  assume  that  the  title  there  is 
good? 

Mr.  Wackee:    Are  you  answering  my  question? 

Mr.  roMERFOFD :  I  have  answered  your  question.  Have  yon 
examined  the  title,  Mr.  Wacker? 

Mr  WACKF.r. •    T  don't  know  any  who — 

Mr.  Comebford:    Have  you  had  an  attorney  do  it? 

Mr.  Wackee  :    No,  sir. 

Mr.  roMERFoiD:  Has  the  attorney  of  the  South  Park  Board 
submitted  an  abstract  to  you  1 

Mr.  Redfiild :  Not  to  you.  brother.  What  I  will  have-  here 
tomorrow  morning,  gentlemen,  will  be  what  T  consider  as  of 
more  value  than  the  opinion  of  the  eminent  counsel  at  the 
farther  end  of  the  room,  and  that  is  a  certificate  from  the  Chi- 
cago Title  &  Trust  Company  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  shore 
lands  between  Twelfth  and  Fifty-first  Streets. 

Mr.  Comerfoed:  There  is  nothing  to  get  angry  about,  Mr. 
Eedfield. 

Mr.  Redfield:  You  do  not  anger  me;  you  never  do;  you 
simply  instruct  and  amuse  me. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  Can  you  answer  the  question?  As  a  gen- 
eral proposition,  in  a  real  estate  transaction,  is  it  the  custom 
to  do  as  you  say — investigate  the  title  and  then  make  a  con- 
tract, or  is  it  the  custom  for  the  parties  to  negotiate  the  trans- 
action, enter  into  a  contract,  and  then  subsequentlv  clo=^e  the 
contract  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  contract,  provided 
the  title  was  good? 

Mr.  Comerfoed:  That  is  the  usual  and  customary  proceed- 
ing. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  Is  it  not  in  this  case  a  contract  en^^ered 
into  under  those  conditions, — an  ordinance  is  asked  for  to 
ratify  the  contract,  not  to  conclude  the  contract,  bnt  to  ^ntify 
the  contract,  an  ordinance  or  whatever  it  may  be ;  let  them  go 
up  to  the  Circuit  Court  for  investio-ation  and  if  the  trRnsi<^tion 
is  not  proper,  the  court  ouerht  to  be  trusted  not  to  let  su<^h  a 
contract  be  carried  out — that  the  contract  would  not  be  carried 
out  if  the  title  was  not  good. 


196 

Mr.  CoMEEFORD :  You  mean  to  say  that  the  only  settlement 
of  the  contract  must  be  by  the  court — that  the  property  owner 
has  the  right  to  appear  in  court  to  answer  the  petition  filed  by 
the  Park  Board  asldng  for  a  ratification.  That  puts  the  onus 
on  the  property  owner — the  individual  act  of  the  citizen.  His 
going  into  court  is  a  matter  of  financial  consideration  and  that 
is  why  this  Council  is  organized  to  veto  it,  if  necessary. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  The  statement  was  made  on  yesterday 
that  the  Real  Estate  Board  in  making  its  valuation  assumed  that 
the  title  to  the  land  was  good.  The  attorney  informed  the 
chairman  that  the  South  Park  Board  would  furnish  this  com- 
mittee a  certificate  of  title  by  the  Clucago  Title  &  Trust  Com- 
pany, that  the  title  was  good.  Now  in  an  ordinary  transaction 
involving  the  title  of  land,  is  it  not  assumed  that  a  certificate  of 
that  kind  is  good  title? 

Mr.  CoMERFORD:    It  depends  on  the  character  of  the  title. 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  Have  we  a  right  to  assume  that  that  cer- 
tificate is  to  be  different  from  tiie  usual  certificate  of  title  we 
get? 

Mr.  CoMERFOED :  I  will  say  that  while  I  have  been  present 
that  has  been  the  assumption  from  the  parties  who  were  in 
favor  of  this  proposition,  and  the  people  who  have  opposed  it 
have  been  characterized  and  insulted  because  they  ventured  here 
to  express  an  opinion  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  the  men  who 
are  paid  to  do  the  w^ork. 

Mr.  Goldstine:    I  do  not  think  that  needs  an  answer. 

Mr.  Comerford:    That  is  merely  the  point  of  view. 

A  Citizen  :  If  you  were  looking  at  a  piece  of  property 
and  saw  it  was  occupied  by  a  going  business  and  had  been  oc- 
cupied by  that  same  going  business  for  twenty-five  years,  and 
you  were  told  that  the  man  in  charge  offered  it  for  sale,  would 
you  not  assume  that  he  o-^med  the  property? 

Mr.  Comerford  :  Not  for  the  purpose  of  passing  upon  his 
title.    If  I  did,  I  would  be  disbarred. 

A  Citizen  :    This  is  a  contract,  not  a  sale. 

Mr.  Lee:  The  contract  does  not  state  that  the  Illinois 
Central  owns  the  riparian  rights.  The  contract  states  that  the 
Illinois  Central  claims  the  riparian  rights,  and  I  would  like  to 
state,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  even  if  the  opinion  of  the  Chicago 
Title  &  Trust  Company  should  indicate  that  these  vested  inter- 
ests have  title,  there  is  still  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States. 

The  Chairman:    Who  else  wishes  to  be  heard? 

Mr.  Van  Vlisstngen:  Gentlemen,  the  main  object  of  this 
proceeding,  as  I  understand  it,  is  to  secure  the  construction  of 
a  boulevard  from  Grant  Park  to  Jackson  Park.  Now  the  mem- 
bers of  the  City  Council  have  had  some  experience  in  the  mat- 


197 

ter  of  opening  out  streets  and  they  know  that  they  could  not 
get  very  far  in  opening  public  streets  if  they  did  not  have  the 
power  to  condemn  the  property.  Mr.  Lathrop  assures  us  that 
the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners  already  have  the  power  to 
condemn  the  riparian  rights  and  we  are  also  informed  that  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  do  not  have  the  power.  Now  sup- 
pose you  get  this  Illinois  Central  Railroad  contract  settled  on 
a  satisfactory  basis,  that  does  not  settle  the  matter  of  your 
boulevard  from  Grant  Park  to  Fifty-first  Street.  There  are 
a  number  of  other  owners  along  the  lake  front  and  each  one 
of  those  property  owners  has  to  be  satisfied.  Any  one  of  those 
property  owners  could  refuse  to  accept  the  terms  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  may  want  to  offer  him.  The  matter  can 
never  go  through  without  going  to  the  Legislature  and  getting 
from  the  Legislature  the  power  of  eminent  domain  so  as  to  con- 
demn his  rights.  Now  as  far  as  this  proposition  stands  at  pres- 
ent, they  seem  to  be  seeking  to  go  as  far  as  they  can  get. 
Among  other  things,  we  give  them  400  or  500  or  600  feet  of 
additional  land  to  make  smoke  on.  They  will  go  into  occupancy 
at  once,  and  then  if  finally  we  find  one  man  who  refuses  to  ac- 
cept the  terms  we  offer  him,  we  are  stuck  and  the  improve- 
ment cannot  go  ahead;  and  what  good  is  that  going  to  do  if  it 
cannot  be  completed  as  a  whole?  Now,  gentlemen,  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  have  their  hands  tied.  The  South  Park 
Commissioners  should  have  the  power  of  eminent  domain  in 
this  matter  and  they  should  get  enabling  legislation  from  the 
Legislature  at  Springfield  so  they  can  proceed  to  open  the 
streets  the  same  as  the  City  Council  would  under  like  circum- 
stances. 

Mr.  Chas.  H.  Wackee:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I 
am  somewhat  surprised  to  hear  Mr.  Lee  object  to  this  improve- 
ment as  much  as  he  does,  because  I  remember  very  well  that 
he  was  a  strong  supporter  of  giving  the  Illinois  Steel  Company 
a  complete  right  to  200  acres  of  land,  which  is  pronounced  by 
a  great  many  people  in  the  City  of  Chicago  as  an  unwise  thing, 
and  I  want  to  say  that  I  helped  him  do  it.  I  was  on  a  commit- 
tee of  the  Association  of  Commerce  at  the  time  the  matter  was 
up,  and  I  believed  then  and  I  believe  today  that  it  was  a  good 
thing  for  South  Chicago  and  that  it  was  a  good  commercial 
proposition  to  keep  that  great  industry  within  the  State  of 
Illinois  rather  than  to  let  it  go  to  Gary. 

I  am  not  going  to  make  an  oration,  nor  am  I  going  to  raise 
my  voice  to  a  high  pitch.  I  think  this  is  too  serious  a  matter 
to  resort  to  anything  of  that  sort,  nor  will  I  appeal  to  the 
prejudices  of  the  people  because  I  am  not  built  that  way,  nor 
will  I  state  my  case  in  magnificent  sentences  that  are  certainly, 
many  of  them,  misleading.    I  think  I  will  leave  that  to  the  coun- 


198 

sel  on  the  other  side.  This  is  a  ]^lain  statement,  made  by  a  plain 
every-day  business  man,  and  I  think  after  it  has  been  read,  you 
will  at  least  understand  my  position,  and  you  will  also  under- 
stand that  I  stake  my  reputation  upon  it,  and  I  want  it  known 
forever  that  I  personally,  as  a  citizen  of  Chicago,  take  the 
position  I  do  in  this  j^aper  (reads) : 

No  great  public  improvement  has  ever  been  made  without  serious  op- 
position. Just  as  in  politics  and  in  civilization  differences  of  opinion  al- 
ways manifest  themselves.  Even  the  Christian  religion  could  not  be  in- 
troduced without  the  crucifixion  of  the  Savior. 

So  here — it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  this  great  improvement  could  be 
accomplished  without  opposition.  This  opposition  and  the  discussion  which 
it  has  occasioned  has  emphasized  the  public  advantages  of  this  great  en- 
terprise. 

The  opposition  agree  that  the  ends  to  be  accomplished  are  highly  de- 
sirable; their  objections  go  simply  to  details;  they  say: 

If  the  Legislature  is  convened: 

And  if  the  Legislature  will  pass  a  law  giving  the  South  Park  Board 
the  power  of  condemnation; 

And  if  the  courts  will  sustain  this  legislation — 

Then  it  will  be  possible  to  condemn  the  riparian  rights  and  secure  the 
lake  front  to  the  public  by  making  compensation  to  the  railroad  in  money, 
without  giving  to  the  railroad  the  additional  strip  of  land  which  it  acquires 
by  virtue  of  this  contract. 

If  this  contention  is  analyzed,  it  will  be  found  that  the  suggestion  is 
merely  a  way  not  to  accomplish  the  improvements,  but  to  divert  public  at- 
tention from  the  Council  to  the  Legislature,  and  in  the  end  accomplish 
nothing. 

Why  is  this  true?  The  improvement  involved  in  this  contract,  briefly 
stated,  is: 

The  public  acquires  the  lake  front  from  Grant  Park  to  Fifty-first  Street 
with  the  right  to  add  at  least  1,500  acres  to  the  park  area. 

Connect  Grant  and  Jackson  Parks  bv  an  outer  boulevard. 

Extend  South  Park  Avenue  across  the  railroad  tracks  into  Grant  Park. 

Acauire  in  fee  simple  the  tract  of  land  (between  eight  and  ten  acres) 
south  of  Grant  Park  and  eqst  of  the  railroad  now  occupied  by  railroad 
tracks,  as  a  permanent  site  for  the  museum. 

To  rover  over  100  feet  f.^0  feet  on  each  side't  of  the  present  right  of 
way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  from  Twelfth  Street  north;  on  the 
west  side  to  Randolph  Street:  on  the  east  side  to  Monroe  Street,  thus  en- 
abling the  Park  Board  to  build  the  greatest  stadium  in  the  world  on  the 
eapt  =:ide  of  the  railroad  in  Grant  Park  with  the  necessary  approaches  from 
Mich'ean  Avenue  over  the  railrmd. 

To  extend  the  widened  Twelfth  Street  from  Michigan  Avenue  across 
the  tracks  into  Grant  Park,  giving  to  the  West  Side  a  splendid  direct  ap- 
nroa'-'i  +0  the  lake,  and  bringing  the  great  West  Side  into  close  proximity 
to  t^""  lake. 

The  extension  of  Grant  Park  to  Twelfth  Street. 

'T^ho  removal  of  the  Illinois  Central  to  the  south  of  Twelfth  Street,  and 
the  '^OTistruction  of  a  new  station  south  of  Twelfth  Street:  and 

T  a«5<-.  but  no  means  least,  the  cre^t'on  and  the  establishment  of  a  splen- 
rlM  r^iQTpi^^Q  pjpr  at  Twentv-second  Street,  and  the  establishment  and  equip- 
mo'^t  of  two  bathins:  beaches  south  of  Twenty-second  Street,  ample  for  the 
puM'"  accommodation. 

'T'V.ic;  in  brief  is  what  is  accomnliched. 

""''ith  the  slightest  consideration  of  the  subject  by  any  disinterested  per- 
son it  will  be  manifest  that  these  resuHs  can  only  be  accomplished  by  ne- 
gotin'^'on  and  cannot  be  accomnlisbed  bv  litigation. 

Tf  the  power  to  do  these  things  could  be  conferred  by  the  Legislature, 
it  would  involve  such  a  series  of  litigation  as  to  make  any  action  impossi- 


199 

ble  for  at  least  ten  years.  The  Legislature  has  power  only  to  confer  upou 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  power  to  take  lands  for  park  purposes. 

No  power  of  condemnation  given  by  the  Legislature  to  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  will  enable  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  accomplish 
the  splendid  results  here  involved,  through  the  courts.  Such  a  thing  would 
be  practically  impossible. 

Why  is  this  true? 

If,  as  is  suggested,  the  Legislature  may  give  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners power  to  condemn  the  riparian  rights  and  make  compensation  there- 
for in  money,  this  by  no  means  accomplishes  the  objects  here  sought. 

Contemplate  for  a  moment  an  effort  to  condemn  the  Illinois  Central 
railroad  station  and  office  building— to  extend  Twelfth  Street.  What  would 
such  an  effort  mean  if  power  to  do  so  existed. 

No  power  of  condemnation  can  destroy  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  nor 
deprive  it  of  its  station,  because  the  station  and  railroad  are  necessary  for 
the  public  use,  nor  can  you  take  away  from  it  its  railroad  lands  where 
they  are  necessary  for  the  public  use. 

Even  if  it  were  possible  to  acquire  the  land  for  the  site  for  the  mu- 
seum, or  to  condemn  its  railroad  station  to  widen  and  extend  Twelfth  Street, 
the  amount  of  money  involved  would  be  so  tremendous,  and  the  litigation 
so  protracted,  that  the  enterprise  could  never  be  carried  out. 

No  great  enterprise  of  this  character  ever  has  been  or  ever  can  be 
accomplished  by  lawsuits. 

Regarding  condemnation  proceedings: 

Precedent  is  afforded  in  the  experience  of  the  Lincoln  Park  Board  in 
its  negotiations  for  the  great  lake  front  improvement  it  is  now  carrying 
out.  It  had  the  power  to  condemn.  Why  did  the  Lincoln  Park  Board  not 
employ  that  power? 

Primarily  because  of  the  great  delay  and  litigation  it  would  entail. 

Another  reason  why  the  Lincoln  Park  Board  did  not  condemn  was  be- 
cause, in  the  sanity  of  its  wisdom,  it  decided  that  the  more  expeditious  and 
profitable  way  to  proceed  was  by  mutual  agreement. 

Everybody  knows  what  the  Lincoln  Park  Board's  great  lake  front  im- 
provement means  to  the  Northwest  Side  and  to  the  entire  city.  No  com- 
plaints have  been  heard.  Everybody  is  satisfied — so  much  so  that  an  ad- 
ditional bond  issue  of  $800,000  for  additional  improvements  was  cheerfully 
voted  by  the  people  at  the  last  election. 

The  experience  of  the  Lincoln  Park  Board  is  the  experience  of  every 
successful  business  enterprise.  Expediency  of  procedure  is  by  the  well- 
tried  route  of  mutual  agreement,  whenever  equitable  and  possible. 

I  do  not  care  to  add  anything  to  what  has  been  said  as  to  the  money 
value  of  the  trade.  That  is  a  matter  as  to  which  men  may  fairly  differ. 
The  truth  is  there  is  no  standard  in  money  by  which  the  subject  can  be 
measured.     The  public  gets  what  it  wants: 

It  gets  the  lake  front. 

It  gets  a  permanent  location  downtown  for  the  museum. 

It  makes  possible  the  great  stadium. 

It  makes  possible  the  extension  of  Twelfth  Street  across  the  railroad 
to  the  lake. 

All  of  the  other  things  here  involved  are  not  only  made  possible,  but 
they  are  accomplished,  and  are  accomplished  now. 

Please  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  Chicago  is  now  trying  to  do  some- 
thing to  accomplish  the  consummation  of  its  great  civic  plan.  This  con- 
tract marks  the  beginning  of  a  great  epoch,  a  step  in  advance.  The  sugges- 
tion to  wait  for  legislation  means  delay — delay  and  nothing  accomplished. 

If  the  idea  of  the  opposition  prevails,  the  great  improvements  for  this 
city  are  likely  to  get  a  setback  for  another  decade,  and  if  the  subject  is 
revived  it  will  meet  with  opposition,  because  nothing  can  be  accomplished 
without  opposition. 

The  argument  that  the  widening  of  the  right  of  way  to  the  lake  front 
and  the  proposed  lake  front  park  would  remove  the  lake  still  farther  from 
the  people,  it  seems  to  me,  is  not  worth  considering.    The  question  of  two  or 


200 

three  hundred  feet  more  or  less  one  way  or  the  other  cannot  cut  any  fig- 
ure. The  people  today  do  not  enjoy  the  lake  front,  and  we  propose  to  give 
the  people  five  miles  of  new  parks,  or  1,550  acres,  without  filling  to  a  greater 
depth  than  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  at  any  point,  and  at  a  number  of 
points  not  more  than  ten  feet.  This  would  add  new  parks  in  extent  nearly 
half  our  present  total  park  area  where  now  they  have  nothing.  Besides  a 
part  of  the  proposition  is  to  carry  all  cross-town  lines  of  transportation 
direct  to  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way,  so  that  the  people  from  all  parts 
of  the  city  for  a  5-cent  fare  reach  the  health-giving  lake  front  playgrounds, 
baseball  fields,  tennis  grounds,  pleasure  piers  and  bathing  beaches. 

Prom  75  to  100  acres  of  land  per  year  can  be  created,  without  prac- 
tically any  additional  cost  to  the  city,  in  the  manner  outlined  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  City  Council  under  date  of  September  23,  1911,  a  copy  of 
which  I  herewith  hand  you  and  which  I  desire  to  have  made  a  part  of  your 
proceedings. 

Electrification  is  sure  to  come.  The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce 
has  established  a  bureau  with  a  most  competent  staff  of  engineers,  which 
is  organized  for  the  sole  purpose  of  evolving  practical  plans  to  meet  con- 
ditions here  existing,  which  are  radically  different  from  the  conditions  in 
any  other  city. 

If,  as  has  been  argued,  the  depression  of  tracks  is  desirable,  and  if  the 
city  can  force  the  Illinois  Central  to  depress  its  tracks  on  its  present  right 
of  way,  why  can  it  not  force  the  depression  of  tracks  on  the  additional  width 
whenever,  in  the  wisdom  of  the  City  Council,  it  should  be  done. 

No  citizen  who  will  take  the  time  to  intelligently,  broadly  and  thor- 
oughly investigate  the  proposed  agreement  between  the  City  of  Chicago, 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  can  under- 
estimate the  value  of  the  improvements  that  would  follow  in  the  wake  of 
its  consummation. 

Furthermore,  negotiations  now  pending  lead  me  to  believe  that  the 
consummation  of  the  contract  pending  between  the  South  Park  Commission 
and  the  Illinois  Central  would  mean  the  removal  of  the  Polk  Street  depot, 
the  Michigan  Southern  and  the  Union  Depot  from  their  present  locations 
to  south  of  and  facing  Twelfth  Street.  This  would  bring  all  the  important 
passenger  depots,  excepting  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern,  within  the  area 
of  but  a  few  blocks. 

Can  any  citizen  question  the  commercial  value  to  our  city  of  such  im- 
provements? 

Great  metropolitan  cities  have  long  since  capitalized  their  luxuries  and 
found  it  a  splendid  paying  investment.  Can  any  citizen  question  the  hygi- 
enic benefit  to  be  derived  by  the  people  from  the  reclaiming  of  the  health- 
giving  lake  front? 

Chicago's  present  park  area  is  between  3,000  and  4,000  acres;  for  health 
and  order  there  should  be  an  acre  of  space  to  each  100  population.  Chi- 
cago's average  is  780.  In  the  thickly  populated  districts  there  are  5,000 
people  to  one  acre  of  park  space. 

Are  there  any  thinking  citizens  who  believe  we  can  maintain  our  com- 
mercial standing  and  retain  our  position  as  the  trade  center  for  fully  fifty 
million  people  without  catering  to  their  tastes  or  making  our  city  agree- 
able, comfortable,  attractive  and  healthful?  All  of  the  projects  mentioned 
can  easily  with  the  proper  support  of  the  people  be  promptly  carried  out. 

The  improvements  spoken  of,  combined  with  West  Twelfth  Street,  and 
that  of  Michigan  Avenue  from  Randolph  Street  north  to  Chicago  Avenue, 
and  the  improvements  outlined  in  the  Plan  of  Chicago  from  Grant  Park  to 
Jackson  Park,  would  give  to  Chicago  a  water  front  without  in  any  way 
Interfering  with  the  harbor  developments  which  would  be  at  once  more 
useful,  imposing  and  grand  than  the  water  front  of  any  other  city  In  the 
world. 

There  is  a  letter  here  that  I  would  like  to  read  and  place 
with  you. 


201 

(Mr.  Wacker  read  the  following  letter) : 

DR.  HENRY  BAIRD  FAVILL, 
32  N.  State  Street. 

Chicago,  January  30,  1912. 
Mr.  Charles  Wacker,  Chicago,  III. 

My  Dear  Mb.  Wacker:  Your  favor  of  January  30th  as  to  the  attitude 
of  the  City  Club  on  the  proposed  South  Parle  Illinois  Central  ordinance 
received. 

It  is  practically  impossible  in  a  club  of  this  size  to  ever  poll  its  mem- 
bership on  a  controversial  question  like  this  with  any  accuracy  or  fairness, 
consequently  we  never  do  it. 

The  directors  at  times  authorize  the  utterance  of  committee  reports 
with  reference  to  special  subjects.  No  action  whatsoever  has  been  taken 
by  the  City  Club  directors  upon  the  question  of  this  ordinance.  The  ques- 
tion of  opposing  it  has  never  been  brought  before  them,  and  the  City  Club 
must  be  regarded  as  absolutely  not  a  party  to  the  negotiation  in  any  sense. 

The  activity  of  some  of  its  prominent  members  is  absolutely  individ- 
ual and  they  should  not  be  embarrassed  by  regarding  them  as  spokesmen 
for  the  club. 

Whether  the  club  as  a  whole  is  favorable  to  the  ordinance  or  op- 
posed to  it,  I  have  no  means  of  finding  out,  but  state  to  you  definitely  that 
it  has  oflBcially  taken  no  position  in  the  matter. 

Very  truly  yours, 

H.  B.  Favill. 

Mr.  Lee:  Can  I  ask  Mr.  Wacker  a  question?  I  would  like 
to  ask  you,  if,  supposing  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  these 
gentlemen  who  make  the  statements  that  the  Illinois  Central 
has  no  riparian  rights  along  the  lake  front,  and  that  the  title 
to  the  submerged  land  adjoining  the  Illinois  Central  right  of 
way  is  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  these  gentlemen — I  refer  to  Mr. 
Stead  and  Mr.  Wayman  and  Mr.  Brundage  and  Mr.  Gardner 
and  Alderman  Theodore  K.  Long — if  these  gentlemen  are  right, 
and  if  the  Supreme  Court  is  right  in  making  that  statement, 
Mr.  Wacker — 

Mr.  Wacker  :  Are  you  asking  me  to  assume  that  they  are 
right? 

Mr.  Lee:  Yes,  that  their  statements  are  correct.  Would 
the  South  Park  Board  then, — ^would  they  not  have  the  right  to 
step  right  in  there  and  make  all  these  beautiful  things  they 
have  told  us  about  without  asking  permission  of  their  neighbor, 
the  Illinois  Central? 

Mr.  Wackee  :  I  think  I  went  into  that  pretty  fully  in  my 
paper.  I  think  I  stated  my  position  upon  that.  I  do  not  un- 
derstand it,  but  I  think  Mr.  Lee  means  that  by  getting  the  nec- 
essary right  to  condemn  we  could  then  do  all  these  things. 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  beg  your  pardon,  that  is  not  just  what  I  meant. 
Could  I  tell  the  gentleman  what  I  mean,  Mr.  Chairman  1 

The  Chairman  :  I  think  I  thoroughly  understand  what  you 
mean. 

Mr.  Lee  :    Mr.  Wacker  evidently  does  not  understand  what 


202 

I  mean.  The  point  is  this,  Mr.  Wacker,  there  is  a  suit  now 
pending  and  the  gentlemen  who  are  prosecuting  the  suit  on  be- 
half of  the  People  of  the  City  and  the  State,  give  the  informa- 
tion to  the  judge  in  their  statements  that  the  title  to  the  sub- 
merged land  now  adjoining  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way — 
that  that  title  rests  in  the  State  of  Illinois.  They  make  that 
statement.  Now  we  will  assume  that  they  agree  with  the  Su- 
preme Court,  we  will  assume  for  the  sake  of  argument  that  the 
Supreme  Court  is  right,  and  that  these  gentlemen  are  right  in 
making  this  statement,  then  if  the  State  of  Illinois  owns  that 
land  today,  cannot  the  South  Park  Board  go  in  there  tomorrow 
and  build  all  these  beautiful  pictures  mthout  asking  permis- 
sion from  the  Illinois  Central,  in  your  opinion? 

Mr.  Wacker:    I  do  not  think  so. 

Aid.  KuNz :  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Lee  this —  the  State 's 
Attorney,  the  Attorney-General  and  other  parties  have  filed  a 
bill  in  chancery  reclaiming  the  land  now  in  possession  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  is  that  a  fact? 

Mr.  Lee  :    No,  I  think  not. 

Aid.  KuNz :    Is  not  that  what  the  bill  is  for  ? 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  think  I  would  rather  refer  you  to  Mr.  Comer- 
ford  who  is  the  lawyer  upon  the  thing.  However,  I  am  per- 
fectly willing  to  tell. 

Aid.  LoN(j :  I  object.  I  want  Mr.  Lee  to  answer.  He  poses 
here  as  a  law^^er.    I  want  him  to  answer. 

Mr.  Lee:  I  pose  here  simply  as  a  man  who  can  read  the 
English  language  and  understand  it  fairly  well.  I  went  over 
into  the  court  vaults  and  got  a  paper.  I  gave  you  the  number 
of  the  case,  and  it  was  presented  on  yesterday. 

Aid.  Long:    Answer  Mr.  Kunz's  question.    Be  fair. 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  do  not  know  what  the  purpose  of  that  suit  was^ 
whether  it  was  to  reclaim  land.  I  assume  it  was  the  purpose  to 
enjoin  the  Illinois  Central  from  filling  in  any  more  land. 

Mr.  O'Neil  (representing  the  Chicago  Federation  of 
Labor) :  Mr.  Chairman,  may  I  say  a  few  words?  I  have  been 
attending  this  meeting,  Mr.  Chairman,  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting information.  There  has  been  considerable  brought  up 
here  that  was  very  interesting  to  me  as  a  representative  of 
the  people  that  are  going  to  use  these  parks,  if  we  get  them. 

Aid.  KuNz:  Pardon,  me,  for  a  moment,  I  want  a  gentle- 
man here,  one  of  the  pioneer  citizens  of  Chicago,  to  answer  a 
question. 

The  Chairman  :    Let  him  wait. 

Mr.  O'Neil:  I  happen  to  be  a  kind  of  a  pioneer  myself. 
I  have  been  here  since  1863.    That  is  my  natural  life. 

Aid.  KuNz:  Then  you  might  answer  my  question,  if  you 
do  not  mind.    Do  you  know  whether  it  is  true  or  not  that  the 


203 

Illinois  Central  Eailroad  was  requested  to  put  in  piles  at  the 
time  they  were  given  entrance  along  the  lake  shore  to  Ran- 
dolph Street,  that  they  were  given  that  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting the  shores  of  the  cityl 

Mr.  O'Neil:  I  could  not  give  you  that.  I  do  not  know 
anything  about  that.  I  will  retire  and  give  you  the  opportunity 
to  get  an  answer. 

Aid.  KuNz:  I  would  like  to  ask  you  that  question.  You 
heard  the  remarks  made  by  Mr.  Rosenthal  that  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago authorized  the  Illinois  Central  to  protect  the  shores. 

Mr.  Lathrop:    Not  to  my  knowledge. 

Aid.  KuNz:    If  it  was  done,  would  you  know? 

Mr.  Lathrop  :  It  might  have  been  done  without  my  knowl- 
edge. There  was  a  breakwater  near  the  shore  sufficient  to  pro- 
tect the  city's  banks.  I  remember  at  one  time  there  were  gul- 
lies that  came  up  to  the  street. 

Aid.  KuNz:    All  right,  you  do  not  know. 

Mr.  O'Neil:  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  my  purpose  in  rising 
upon  this  occasion  was  after  hearing  Mr.  Wacker  speak  of  the 
Steel  Company's  steal,  as  some  people  call  it,  in  South  Chicago. 
I  happened  to  be  in  Springfield  during  the  session.  I  was  not 
representing  the  Illinois  Central  Company,  but  I  was  represent- 
ing in  part  some  of  the  men  that  worked  for  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral. I  found  their  lobbies  were  very  strong  there.  Tliey  came 
down  there  in  special  trains  and  kept  us  up  until  11  and  12 
o'clock  on  these  committees  in  the  State  House,  and  finally  they 
beat  us  on  these  bills.  But  that  is  not  exactly  what  I  want  to 
impress  on  the  committee  this  afternoon.  It  is  this,  that  that 
great  body  of  citizens  of  Chicago  that  are  going  to  use  the  parks 
and  do  use  the  parks,  are  now  studying  this  ordinance  and  they 
intend, — the  working  people  of  Chicago  intend — to  inform  the 
Council  whether  they  believe  this  is  a  good  contract  or  not. 
"VVe  are  going  to  ask  the  committee,  at  least,  if  they  get  through 
with  their  deliberations,  to  give  an  opportunity  for  a  good  care- 
ful consideration  of  this  plan  to  the  Clncago  Federation  of  La- 
bor. I  am  sure  they  will  give  you  some  information  as  to  what 
the  citizens  of  Chicago  want. 

Mr.  H.  B.  Spurlock  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  here  represent- 
ing the  Lake  View  Property  Owners  Association.  They  held 
a  meeting  on  last  Friday  night  and  this  resolution  was  passed, 
which  I  will  read: 

LAKE  VIEW  PROPERTY  OWNERS  IMPROVEMENT  ASSOCIATION. 

Meets  at  Clifton  Hall,  Clifton  and  Belmont  Aves.,  Fourth  Friday  of  each 

month. 
The  following  resolution  was  passed  by  the  Lake  View  Property  Owners 
and  Improvement  Association,  at  its  regular  meeting  held  in  Clifton  Hall 
on  Friday  evening,  January  26,  1912: 


204 

Resolved,  that  the  Lake  View  Property  Owners  and  Improvement  Asso- 
ciation go  on  record  as  opposed  to  a  ratification  by  the  City  Council  of  the 
City  of  Chicago,  of  the  agreement  entered  into  between  the  South  Parlt  Board 
and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  relative  to  the  lake  front  lands  and 
claimed  rights,  now  before  the  Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges 
for  consideration;  and  that  we  favor  the  passing  of  a  law  by  our  State 
Legislature  empowering  the  municipality  or  Park  Board  to  condemn  such 
lands  as  are  proposed  to  be  acquired  from  said  railroad  company  in  and  by 
the  aforesaid  agreement. 

H.  B.  Spurlock,  president  of  the  association,  was  instructed  to  present 
said  resolution  at  the  Council  Committee  meeting  on  January  29th. 

H.  B.   Spuelock,  President. 
Attest  : 

James  E.  Pbendebgast,  Secretary. 

Mr.  Spurlock  then  said : 

Now  everything  has  probably  been  mentioned  here  in  the 
way  of  an  argument  that  can  be  brought  up,  but  I  want  to  add 
a  word.  There  is  no  question  but  what  the  Illinois  Central  is 
considered  a  nuisance  in  its  present  location  on  the  lake  front. 
As  far  as  beautifying  the  lake  front  is  concerned,  if  it  is  a  nui- 
sance it  seems  poor  policy  to  extend  that  nuisance  rather  than 
to  limit  it.  I  have  heard  quite  a  good  deal  of  talk  here  in  regard 
to  beautifying  the  lake  front.  A  great  many  word  pictures  have 
been  made  here  as  to  what  we  shall  expect  in  the  future,  but  if 
you  will  remember,  about  ten  years  ago,  when  the  question  of 
settling  the  lake  front  question — where  it  was  involved  at  that 
time  between  Randolph  and  Twelfth  Streets — when  that  was 
under  consideration  we  had  these  beautiful  pictures  hung  up 
to  our  view.  But  how  many  people,  how  many  citizens  of  Chi- 
cago and  especially  the  poorer  class,  enjoy  this  lake  front,  and 
is  it  so  beautiful?  I  would  advise  them  not  to  make  that  trip 
across  the  viaduct  upon  hot  nights.  In  the  daytime  it  is  not 
such  an  attractive  place  the  way  it  is  now,  but,  of  course,  if 
this  improvement  goes  on  we  may  look  for  the  Field  Museum 
and  that  will  be  a  good  thing,  but  outside  of  that,  in  my  judg- 
ment, about  the  only  thing  that  this  lake  front  will  amount  to 
will  be  for  automobiles.  There  will  be  automobile  roads  there 
and  persons  who  can  enjoy  automobiles  will  have  the  pleasure  of 
using  it. 

Now  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  talk  here  in  regard  to 
the  opposition  that  a  law  will  meet  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  the  same  right  for  condemna- 
tion to  acquire  these  lands.  You  will  all  admit  that  if  the  Illi- 
nois Central  has  any  rights,  that  the  proper  place  to  thrash  them 
out  is  in  the  courts,  where  they  will  meet  every  question  and  it 
will  be  taken  care  of  in  the  same  way  that  all  other  condemna- 
tion suits  are  taken  care  of.  Then  the  citizens  of  Chicago  will  be 
satisfied  that  it  has  been  done  in  the  regular  way,  and  this  City 
Council  will  not  be  subject  to  criticism.    I  do  not  see  why  it  is 


I 


205 

thixt  some  of  the  speakers  expect  any  great  difficulty  in  getting 
a  law  from  the  Legislature  that  would  empower  the  South  Park 
Board  to  do  what  they  have  empowered  the  Lincoln  Park  Board 
to  do,  and  if  that  opposition  is  to  come  from  interests  that  are 
trying  to  acquire  rights  here  that  are  questionable,  I  do  not  think 
this  committee  should  surrender  to  those  rights.  I  think  they 
ought  to  proceed  under  this  law,  and  I  do  not  see  how  anybody 
could  refuse  to  vote  to  give  them  the  right— to  give  the  South 
Park  Commission  the  rights  that  the  Lincoln  Park  Board  has. 
I  do  not  know  of  anything  else  to  add  in  regard  to  this. 

The  Chaieman:  You  are  from  the  Lake  View  Property 
Owners  Association? 

Mr.  Spuelock:    Yes,  sir. 

The  Chaieman :    You  have  a  large  park  area  up  there? 

Mr.  Spuelock  :    Yes,  sir. 

The  Chaieman  :  You  are  anxious  to  have  Lincoln  Park  im- 
proved by  the  issue  of  bonds? 

Mr.  Spuelock  :  No,  sir.  We  objected  to  it.  I  will  say  that 
that  resolution  passed  without  a  dissenting  vote. 

The  Chateman  :  Nobody  up  there  would  object  to  improving 
Lincoln  Park.  , 

Aid.  Geigee:  How  many  were  there  at  your  meeting  when 
you  passed  that  resolution? 

Mr.  Spuelock  :    About  100. 

Aid.  Geigee  :    Had  they  heard  of  this  contract? 

Mr.  Spuelock  :  They  had  read  of  it  in  the  newspapers  and 
they  heard  the  thing  discussed,  and  I  think  they  had  most  of 
the  arguments  presented  to  this  committee. 

Mr.  Lee:  I  presume  there  were  men  there  who  possessed 
the  same  wisdom  as  others  and  they  had  the  same  opportunity 
to  study  the  question  intelligently. 

Mr.  Spuelock  :  This  association  has  taken  a  large  interest 
in  public  affairs. 

The  Chateman:  They  never  questioned  the  right  of  the 
Lincoln  Park  Commissioners  to  give  land  to  the  riparian  owners 
BO  that  the  park  might  be  extended. 

Mr.  Spuelock  :    They  questioned  the  bond  issues  up  there. 

The  Chaieman  :  They  did  not  go  into  the  right  of  the  bond 
Issues. 

Mr.  Spuelock:  They  had  an  opinion  from  an  attorney 
upon  the  bonds  that  the  issue  was  not  legal  and  they  objected  to 
it  when  it  came  to  a  vote. 

Mr.  LEssmo  Kosenthal  :  Mr,  Chairman,  there  is  very  little 
I  have  to  add  except  a  few  things  that  I  wish  to  say  in  reply  to 
the  address  furnished  to  the  chairman  just  now  and  the  remarks 
of  Mr.  Wacker.  The  people  on  the  North  Side  may  have  been 
perfectly  satisfied  with  the  situation  on  the  South  Side,  but  the 


206 

situation  on  the  North  Side  was  different  from  the  South  Side. 
I  want  to  assure  you  that  none  of  us  here  would  be  opposing  this 
particuhir  grant  if  there  were  no  railroads  on  or  a  system  of 
railroads  to  be  located  along  the  lake  front.  The  thing  that 
makes  the  situation  on  the  South  Side  so  different  from  any 
other  situation  that  we  have  had  here  with  reference  to  the  ex- 
tension of  any  park  or  with  reference  to  beautifying  the  city, 
is  that  while  on  the  one  hand,  we  are  endeavoring  to  beautify, 
on  the  other  hand  we  are  increasing  the  amount  of  smoke,  and 
increasing  the  amount  of  noise,  and  increasing  soot  and  grime, 
and  all  the  consequent  evils  of  having  a  railroad  yard  just  in 
the  center  of  the  city  and  immediately  adjacent  to  what  is  in 
time  to  be  a  beautiful  park. 

Now  let  me  say  another  thing.  I  do  not  know  that  the  con- 
sent of  the  government  has  been  obtained  for  this  project,  and 
supposing  you  pass  this  ordinance  and  we  get  all  through  it, 
this  grant  here  to  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  is  conditioned 
upon  the  government  subsequently  permitting  the  filling  in  land. 
It  may  be  that  after  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road has  been  widened  and  the  nuisance  of  the  lake  front  in- 
creased, that  the  Park  Commissioners  will  find  that  they  are  not 
permitted  by  the  government  to  do  a  number  of  the  things  we. 
have  at  the  present  time  in  contemplation,  and  yet  there  is  no 
reservation  whatever  in  the  agreement  or  ordinance. 

Now  I  want  to  repeat,  I  think  I  have  stated  here  already 
that  the  persons  who  put  through  this  agreement  of  December 
11,  1911,  between  the  Park  Commissioners — the  South  Park 
Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  were  probably 
doing  the  best  they  could  in  the  light  of  the  information  they 
liad,  and  recognizing  the  fact  that  they  had  no  power  whatever 
in  the  law,  that  they  practically  had  to  accede  to  the  terms  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  if  they  wanted  to  carry  this  project 
through,  and  they  deemed  it  for  the  best  interests  of  the  city  in 
their  judgment  to  carry  it  through  on  the  best  terms  they  could 
get.  I  venture  to  say  that  some  of  these  gentlemen  were  not 
originally  satisfied  with  these  particular  terms,  and  I  venture  to 
say  that  Mr.  Donnersberger  has  expressed  himself  here  that 
they  would  never  be  satisfied  if  they  had  been  on  an  even  foot- 
ing— if  they  had  been  allowed  to  condemn  this  property,  if  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  had  not  acceded  to  the  terms 
that  they  wanted. 

Mr.  Wacker  has  stated  that  it  would  be  questionable  whether 
the  city  would  have  the  power  to  condemn  the  Illinois  Central 
depot  or  take  away  any  part  of  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way. 
Now  I  want  to  say  for  his  information  that  that  question  has 
been  adjudicated  several  times.  I  have  before  me  a  case  of  the 
United  States  vs.  Electric  Company,  decided  by  the  Supreme 


207 

Conrt  of  the  United  States,  reported  in  the  160  U.  S.  Keports, 
and  I  brought  it  here  simply  because  I  believed  the  question 
might  be  raised  by  some.  There  the  question  was  whether  the 
United  States  might  take  the  property  of  the  Gettysburg  Elec- 
tric Railway  Company  for  the  purpose  of  marking  the  lands  of 
the  Gettysburg  battlefield,  and  the  Supreme  Court  held  that  the 
power  of  Congress  to  change  lands  devoted  to  one  public  use 
for  another  and  different  purpose,  upon  making  just  compensa- 
tion, cannot  be  disputed.  Now  that  is  the  law  and  that  question 
cannot  be  injected  into  this  case. 

Mr.  Wacker  :  Cannot  litigation  be  injected  into  this  case  if 
you  undertake  to  do  it? 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  I  am  very  glad  you  mentioned  that.  The 
proposition  has  been  at  all  times  since  this  question  came  up, 
that  we  cannot  avoid  litigation. 

Mr.  Wacker:  That  is  not  my  question.  My  question  is 
simply  this,  whether  you  believe  that  the  Illinois  Central  would 
permit  the  present  yards  that  they  are  using  for  railroad  pur- 
poses to  be  condemned  without  litigation. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    We  might  have  litigation. 

Mr.  Wacker:    It  would  take  ten  years  to  settle  it. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  We  are  not  building  for  today;  we  are 
building  for  the  future.  We  are  not  settling  .things  for  the  im- 
mediate present.  That  has  been  the  policy  of  the  Council  the 
last  few  years. 

Now  what  was  done  in  1895  with  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company?  I  have  had  for  your  benefit  an  abstract  made 
of  the  ordinance  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and 
the  settlement  agreement  that  was  made  in  1895.  Now  you  gen- 
tlemen who  are  familiar  with  this  matter  will  remember  that 
there  was  the  severest  criticism  and  condemnation  of  this  par- 
ticular scheme  in  that  it  was  not  sufficiently  favorable  to  the  city, 
and  yet  with  all  that  criticism  this  particular  ordinance  is  dis- 
tinctly more  favorable ;  it  gives  the  city  a  great  deal  more  than 
the  present  ordinance  does.  Now  are  we  going  to  take  a  step 
backwards  in  this  cause  or  are  we  going  to  step  forward?  Are 
we  going  to  safeguard  the  public  rights  more  or  are  we  going 
to  be  laxer  in  protecting  the  public  interests? 

With  your  permission  I  would  like  to  read  this  from  the 
abstract : 

"Lake  Park,  east  of  Michigan  Avenue  and  between  the  south  line  of 
Randolph  Street  and  the  north  line  of  Lake  Park  Place  (Park  Row)  shall 
be  extended  by  enclosing  and  filling  space  in  the  shallow  waters  of  Lake 
Michigan  within  certain  boundaries." 

This  space  is  estimated  at  ten  acres. 

"The  railroad  company  is  granted  permission  to  enter  upon  and  use  in 
perpetuity  for  railroad  purposes  all  that  part  of  the  land  to  be  so  filled  in 


208 

and  reclaimed  which  lies  between  its  present  works  and  grounds  on  the 
lake  shore  and  a  described  line  between  Randolph  and  Adams  Streets;  pro- 
vided that  it  either  pay  to  the  city  the  cost  of  filling  or  do  the  work  at  its 
own  expense." 

Now  then  the  next  section  of  the  ordinance  specifies  the  con- 
ditions of  this  particular  authority : 

"The  railroad  company  shall,  at  its  own  expense,  depress  its  roadbed 
between  a  line  200  feet  north  of  the  north  line  of  Peck  Court,  projected  east 
and  parallel  thereto,  and  the  north  line  of  Monroe  Street  projected  east, 
so  that  the  base  of  the  rails  of  the  west  and  east  tracks  laid  thereon  shall 
not  be  more  than  six  feet  above  Chicago  city  datum;  space  between  to  be 
crowned  to  afford  proper  drainage,  but  base  of  rails  of  intermediate  tracks 
to  be  not  more  than  seven  feet  above  Chicago  city  datum.  North  and 
south  of  above  lines  the  roadbed  shall  be  depressed  so  as  to  allow  con- 
nection. 

The  railroad  company  shall,  at  its  own  expense,  build  two  retaining 
walls,  between  Randolph  Street  and  Lake  Park  Place,  to  be  raised  to  an 
elevation  of  22  feet  above  Chicago  city  datum. 

(The  lines  of  the  walls  are  described  in  detail.) 

"The  railroad  company  shall,  at  its  own  expense,  construct  viaducts 
across  its  tracks  in  line  with  not  more  than  four  streets  between  Randolph 
Street  and  Lake  Park  Place,  to  be  designated  by  the  city;  each  viaduct  to 
have  carriageway  and  two  footways.  Whenever  directed  by  Commissioner 
of  Public  Works,  it  shall  construct,  at  its  own  expense,  a  footway  across  its 
right  of  way  in  line  with  any  other  street  between  Randolph  and  Lake  Park 
Place.  Each  said  viaduct,  etc.,  to  be  of  metal  and  not  less  than  16  feet  in 
clear  above  tracks  at  its  lowest  point. 

"The  railroad  company  shall,  at  its  own  expense,  cause  the  Randolph 
Street  viaduct  to  be  altered  and  extended  so  as  to  furnish  access  to  the  new 
made  public  ground  east  of  the  railroad,  etc. 

"The  railroad  company  shall,  at  its  own  expense,  cause  a  retaining  wall 
to  be  constructed  along  the  eastern  dock  line  and  the  southerly  line  of  the 
area  being  closed  and  filled,  as  above  provided. 

"The  railroad  company  shall  furnish  and  deliver  material  to  the  extent 
of  200,000  cubic  yards,  if  so  much  is  necessary,  to  fill  in  the  lake  front  park, 
lying  between  the  company's  right  of  way  in  Michigan  Avenue  to  22  feet 
above  Chicago  city  datum. 

"The  railroad  company  shall  relinquish  and  surrender  to  the  city  the 
two  filled  projections  into  the  lake  beyond  the  east  line  of  its  right  of  way, 
at  the  foot  of  Peck  Court  and  Harrison  Street,  and  also  any  land  there  may 
be  east  or  outside  of  a  described  part  of  its  right  of  way. 

"Work  to  be  prosecuted  without  unnecessarily  obstructing  the  operation 
of  the  railroad. 

"The  railroad  company  is  given  authority  to  construct,  maintain  and 
use  in  perpetuity  a  passenger  station  on  the  public  ground  at  the  foot  of 
Van  Buren  Street." 

(Details  are  given  as  to  entrances,  pipes,  etc.) 

"The  railroad  company  is  given  the  right  to  lay  and  maintain  perma- 
nently, necessary  conduits  and  drainage  pipes. 

"The  structures  heretofore  erected  by  the  railroad  company  in  front  of 
its  passenger  station,  may  be  permanently  maintained,  and  the  railroad 
company  shall  have  the  right  to  use  in  perpetuity  its  grounds  and  right  of 
way  between  the  north  line  of  Randolph  and  the  southern  boundary  of  Lake 
Park,  and  the  railroad  tracks  thereon,  for  all  legitimate  purposes,  except  that 
no  structure  shall  be  erected  thereon  exceeding  in  height  the  top  of  a  wall 
maintained  along  the  west  side  thereof,  etc." 


209 

No  structure  was  to  appear  above  this  retaining  wall,  to 
keep  the  view  therefrom  unobstructed  to  that  extent.  Of  course 
you  know  the  chief  criticism  of  this  ordinance  was,  and  to  my 
notion  a  perfectly  proper  criticism,  that  the  people  of  Chicago 
have  since  regretted,  was  that  the  lake  front  park  was  left 
so  as  to  obstruct  the  view  of  the  lake  from  Michigan  Avenue, 
and,  of  course,  to  that  extent  prevented  the  air  from  circulating, 
and  so  on. 

"The  right  is  reserved  in  the  City  Council  to  pass  any  reasonable  police 
regulations. 

"The  obligations,  etc.,  imposed  on  the  railroad  company  by  this  ordi- 
nance shall  be  dependent  on  its  being  permitted  to  have  the  rights  above 
mentioned,  etc. 

"The  railroad  company  shall  relinquish  and  surrender  to  the  city  any 
riparian  or  littoral  rights  it  may  have  incident  or  appurtenant  to  the  land 
owned  or  occupied  by  it  to  the  shore  of  the  lake  between  the  north  line  of 
Lake  Park  Place  projected,  and  the  north  line  of  Twelfth  Street  projected, 
on  condition  that  the  submerged  land  which  the  railroad  company  is  au- 
thorized to  fill  in  for  its  own  use  by  Section  4  of  this  ordinance,  and  between 
the  south  line  of  Lake  Park  Place  projected  east  and  the  railroad  company's 
Thirteenth  Street  pier,  shall  never  be  filled  in  nor  access  thereto  from  the 
waters  of  the  lake  obstructed,  without  the  consent  of  the  railroad  company, 
except  that  the  railroad  company  shall,  if  permitted  by  the  Secretary  of  War, 
construct,  at  its  own  expense,  a  substantial  bulkhead  or  breakwater  from 
the  Thirteenth  Street  pier;  provided,  however,  that  nothing  herein  con- 
tained shall  be  held  to  affect  the  rights  of  the  City  of  Chicago  to  exercise 
its  rights  of  eminent  domain;  the  pier  to  be  maintained  by  the  railroad 
company  and  reserved  for  its  own  exclusive  use,  and  a  like  pier  to  be  main- 
tained by  the  City  of  Chicago  and  held  for  public  use." 

You  will  remember  that  this  case  went  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  and  was  adjudicated  some  years  ago  by  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  since  that  time  there  have  been  decisions 
that  are  reported  in  the  146  U.  S.  and  since  that  time  there  is  the 
case  in  the  152  U.  S.  and  a  subsequent  case  in  our  Supreme 
Court,  which  have  been  much  more  liberal  to  the  people  than  the 
original  Illinois  Central  case,  and  under  the  theory  of  which 
some  of  the  rights  that  were  acquired  by  the  Illinois  Central 
under  the  original  judgment  would  not  have  been  granted  to  it 
if  the  principles  at  law  had  been  followed  as  were  laid  down  in 
the  subsequent  eases,  and  which  are  now  applicable  to  the  right 
of  way  south  of  Twelfth  Street.  By  the  way,  Mr.  Comerford 
will  correct  me  if  I  am  wrong,  he  spoke  yesterday  of  one  of  the 
extensions  of  the  riparian  rights — that  you  have  the  right  to 
build  wharves  out  into  the  lake ;  the  Supreme  Court  has  held  in 
some  cases  that  that  is  a  right  that  is  not  incident  to  a  riparian 
right. 

I  also  wish  at  this  point  to  say  that  I  agree  with  the  propo- 
sition of  law  that  Mr.  Comerford  laid  down  here  yesterday, 
that  where  the  fee  is  not  in  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  that  it 
is  a  mere  easement  for  its  passage;  it  has  no  riparian  rights  to 
any  other  place  where  it  is  filled  in  without  the  consent  of  the 


210 

authorities;  that  it  has  forfeited  its  riparian  rights,  it  itself  de- 
stroyed that  riparian  right.  Those  two  things  are  very  impor- 
tant points  to  bear  in  mind  in  the  consideration  of  this  particu- 
lar ordinance  as  to  wliat  the  Illinois  Central  ought  to  have  today. 
Now  that  is  the  ordinance  I  referred  to — the  ordinance  of  1895. 
Now  is  it  not  absurd  to  say  that  we  have  made  no  progress  since 
that  time — that  we  have  learned  even  mor.^  at  this  date  about 
what  the  rights  of  the  people  are  and  what  the  rights  of  corpor- 
ations like  the  Illinois  Central  and  others  are?  Do  we  have  to 
cringe  to  them  before  dealing  with  them  properly!  Ought  we 
not  deal  with  them  on  equal  terms?  I  do  not  think  that  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  should  have  any  less  rights  than  the  city 
should  have  or  any  less  rights  than  the  public  or  any  less  rights 
than  the  Park  Commissioners,  but  I  say  that  in  dealing  with 
them  they  should  not  have  greater  rights  conferred  upon  them. 

Now  my  attention  has  also  been  called  to  the  ordinance  of 
1853  under  which  the  Illinois  Central  came  into  the  city  and 
under  which  the  city  still  has  certain  rights  which  are  all  lost 
sight  of  in  this  negotiation,  just  as  though  we  had  no  power  to 
restrict  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company.  Under  that 
ordinance  permission  is  granted  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  to  construct  and  maintain  within  the  limits  of  Chi- 
cago, along  the  margin  of  the  lake,  a  railroad  and  so  forth  upon 
the  terms  and  conditions  following,  etc.  I  might  say,  Mr.  Kunz, 
in  answer  to  your  question,  that  I  am  informed  in  the  early  days 
a  petition  was  addressed  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany to  Congress  imploring  Congress  to  maintain  the  break- 
water and  protect  its  shore  rights  against  erosion,  otherwise  this 
right  of  way  might  be  washed  into  the  lake. 

Mr.  Butler:  Referring  to  that  former  bill  or  ordinance— 
you  are  getting  down  to  1853,  that  ordinance — did  you  not  forget 
to  state  just  w^hat  the  Illinois  Central  Company  received  in  con- 
sideration for  those  things  which  they  granted  to  the  city? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  In  1895, — I  said  they  received  10  acres  of 
land. 

Mr.  Butler  :    Ten  acres  of  land  at  Randolph  Street? 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :    No. 

Mr.  Butler  :  Eight  of  it  there,  I  believe,  worth  five  or  ten 
times  as  much  as  the  other  we  receive  now. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  No,  their  rights  were  even  greater  at  that 
time.  The  Illinois  Central  surrendered  .34  hundredths  of  an 
acre  between  its  right  of  way — between  Peck  Court  and  Har- 
rison Street — and  it  received  the  right  to  fill  and  use  at  its  own 
expense  two  parcels  of  submerged  land  near  Randolph  and  Park 
Row  aggregating  10  acres. 

Mr.  Butler  :  Worth  five  times  as  much  per  acre  as  the 
piece  of  land  T  am  talking  about. 


211 

Mr.  Lee  :    That  is  another  advantage  in  the  steal. 

Mr.  Butler  :    Possibly. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  You  compare  the  value  of  what  was  re- 
ceived there  and  received  now,  and  you  will  find  it  decidedly 
favorable  to  the  ordinance  of  1895. 

Aid.  KuNZ :  Do  you  consider,  Mr.  Rosenthal,  the  1895  ordi- 
nance to  be  a  valid  ordinance  compared  with  the  present  ordi- 
nance ? 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  I  think  the  1895  ordinance  is  a  fine  ordi- 
nance compared  with  the  present  ordinance. 

Aid.  KuNz :  The  newspapers  at  that  time  were  very  much 
opposed  to  that  ordinance.  This  time  they  are  in  favor  of  the 
present  ordinance.    How  do  you  account  for  that? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  That  is  one  of  the  remarkable  things  we 
sometimes  see. 

Aid.  Kunz  :  The  reason  I  ask  the  question  is  that  some- 
times a  man  is  not  given  credit  for  his  own  judgment  but  is  ex- 
pected to  act  in  accordance  with  the  judgment  of  the  newspa- 
pers. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  That  was  the  ordinance  of  1895.  That  was 
a  beautiful  ordinance  in  comparison  to  the  ordinance  now  pre- 
sented to  the  City  of  Chicago. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :  You  do  not  say  it  was  a  good  ordi- 
nance at  that  time. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  I  believe  that  the  Illinois  Central  should 
have  been  forced  to  depress  its  tracks  so  there  would  have  been 
an  unobstructed  view  of  the  lake  and  I  think  it  should  be  done 
in  this  particular  case.  It  is  only  a  matter  of  standing  our 
ground  and  not  being  frightened  by  these  alleged  corporate 
rights. 

Now  I  am  not  going  to  read  in  detail  the  specifications  of 
that  ordinance,  except  to  say  this,  that  the  ordinance  of  1852  re- 
quired the  railroad  company  to  construct  gates  at  the  ends  of  the 
streets  which  are  now  or  may  be  hereafter  laid  out,  as  may  be 
required  by  the  Common  Council  or  other  civic  bodies  and  the 
like.  Of  course  now  we  are  only  to  have  access  at  the  expense 
of  the  people  and  by  means  of  viaducts  built  at  the  cost  of  the 
people ;  approaches  built  at  the  cost  of  the  people,  and  damages 
to  be  at  the  expense  of  the  people. 

I  think  your  attention  ought  to  be  called  to  another  matter 
that  occurred  here  the  other  day.  You  remember  that  Mr.  Rush 
spoke  in  behalf  of  this  ordinance  as  representative  of  eighteen 
Hyde  Park  Improvement  clubs  and  said  he  was  in  favor  of  this 
scheme  except  he  wanted  to  limit  the  switching  south  of  Thirty- 
first.  After  listening  to  the  arguments  of  the  afternoon  Mr. 
Rush  met  me  in  the  evening,  and  said,  ''After  hearing  what  was 
said  before  the  Council  Committee  I  have  completely  changed 


212 

my  mind  about  this  thing,  and  I  think  the  position  your  propon- 
ents to  the  ordinance  have  taken  is  absolutely  right."  I  asked 
him  if  that  changed  the  opinion  of  eighteen  improvement  asso- 
ciations. 

The  city  has  rights  in  this  matter  and  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners have  rights.  If  those  rights  they  have  at  the  present 
time  are  not  sufficient,  why  those  rights  ought  to  be  increased 
and  then  we  ought  to  deal  with  this  matter  properly.  We  ought 
not  to  have  a  great  railroad  yard  along  the  Isike  front  if  we  do 
not  need  a  great  railroad  yard,  and  I  say,  in  the  settlement  of 
this  question,  we  do  not  need  a  great  railroad  yard,  and  I  am 
not  opposed  to  the  railroad  yard  simply  because  it  is  a  railroad 
yard,  but  because  if  we  are  contemplating  a  real  improvement 
here,  then  let  us  go  the  whole  length  and  receive  what  the  people 
in  the  future  need,  by  insisting  in  connection  with  this  matter 
that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  tracks  shall  be  depressed, 
by  insisting  that  the  right  of  way  shall  be  contined  and  shall  not 
be  extended  in  this  particular  place.  We  are  told  that  the  Illi- 
nois Central  is  not  asking  any  increase;  that  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral did  not  come  and  say  that  they  needed  more  tracks.  If  that 
is  the  case  I  ask  you  gentlemen  how  can  you  justify  yourselves  in 
the  creation  of  an  additional  nuisance?  It  means  a  great  deal. 
It  has  been  described  here  as  a  barrier  and  it  will  be  a  real  bar- 
rier when  we  estimate  the  size  of  it. 

Now  there  is  no  necessity  for  a  thing  of  this  sort.  Let  us 
deal  with  it  as  sensible  men  who  have  some  right  in  this  propo- 
sition, and  let  us  make  an  ordinance  which  we  can  be  proud  of 
in  later  years  and  not  one  which  we  will  be  forever  ashamed  of. 

The  committee  then  adjourned  to  meet  on  Friday  afternoon, 
February  2, 1912,  at  3  o  'clock  p.  m. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  HARBORS,  WHARVES  AND  BRIDGES 
OF  THE  CITY  COUNCIL  OF  CHICAGO. 

Friday,  February  2,  1912—3  o'clock  p.  m. 


The  chairman,  Alderman  Littler,  called  the  meeting  to 
order. 

Secretary  Harrah  called  the  roll,  showing  the  following 
members  of  the  committee  present:  Aldermen  Littler,  Nance, 
Derpa,  Long,  Emerson,  Block,  Kunz,  Hey,  Geiger  and  Mayor 
Harrison.  Among  others  present:  Mr.  Teninga,  Prof.  Chas. 
E.  Merriam,  Messrs.  Maclay  Hoyne,  Henry  Lee,  Robt.  Redfield, 


213 

John  Heron,  J.  Van  Vlissengen,  Stanley  Field,  Frank  Comer- 
ford  and  Lessing  Rosenthal. 

The  Chairman:  This  is  a  continuation,  gentlemen,  of  the 
public  hearings  that  we  have  been  holding  for  the  last  ten  days 
on  this  lake  front  proposition  between  the  South  Park  Board 
and  the  Illinois  Central.  We  are  in  hopes  we  may  be  able  to 
terminate  the  public  hearings  today.  I  hope  those  gentlemen 
who  have  anything  to  say  will  make  it  as  brief  as  possible  and 
to  the  point;  and  if  there  is  anyone  in  the  room  who  has  not 
been  heard  at  all,  I  would  like  to  give  them  the  preference  at 
this  meeting. 

Mr.  Heron  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  say  a  few  words. 
The  Chairman:    What  is  your  name? 
Mr.  Heron:    John  Heron. 
The  Chairman:    Whom  do  you  represent? 
Mr.  Heron  :    I  am  chairman  of  the  Harbors  Committee  of 
the  South  Side  Business  Men's  Association,  Outer  Harbor  and 
Lake  Front  proposition.    We  had  this  matter  up  when  I  was 
down  here  some  time  ago,  asking  to  have  the  harbor  between 
Twenty-ninth  Street  and  Twelfth  Street,  as  that  is  the  deepest 
water  in  the  lake  known  to  anybody  connected  with  the  harbor. 
Now,  as  to  this  question  of  the  ordinance  for  the  Illinois  Central, 
the  matter  came  up  there  by  which  the  South  Side  Business 
Men  in  their  meeting  thought  it  would  be  the  proper  thing  for 
the  city  at  this  time,  in  connection  with  this  ordinance,  to  give 
some  help  to  the  residents  out  along  the  line  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral.   Therefore,  a  communication  was  sent  in  here,  signed  by 
me  as  chairman  of  that  committee,  asking  the  City  Council  to 
consider  a  five-cent  fare  for  the  residents  along  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral on  suburban  trains,  and  I  think  that  in  considering  this  ordi- 
nance a  clause  should  be  placed  in  it  giving  to  the  people  who 
have  built  up  that  southern  end  of  the  city  with  homes,  and  have 
had  to  work  for  very  cheap  wages,  a  reasonable  fare  to  get  in 
and  out  of  the  city,  and  to  help  build  up  that  part  of  the  city.    I 
do  not  think  the  Illinois  Central  will  object  to  it.    It  is  a  small 
matter  and  runs  along  and  will  continue  for  years,  and  I  appre- 
hend that  an  ordinance  that  is  to  have  this  drawn  into  it,  making 
it  a  part  of  the  contract,  would  give  to  the  Illinois  Central  a. 
greater  fund  of  money  coming  in,   they  would   receive   more 
money  than  they  do  now  for  fares ;  and  therefore  I  am  here  to- 
day asking  for,  and  on  behalf  of  the  residents  of  South  Chicago 
and  Hegewisch,  and  out  that  way,  a  five-cent  fare,  and  think  that 
they  should  have  it.    I  have  been  communicated  with  by  other 
bodies  down  there.    I  don't  know  whether  they  have  appeared 
here  or  not.    The  business  men  of  Kensington  were  to  come  down 
here,  and  also  men  from  other  societies  up  there,  and  demand 


214 

tliis  same  thing.  Now,  it  is  a  small  matter  and  yet  it  is  a  big 
matter.  It  is  a  big  matter  to  the  people  that  live  out  south. 
They  have  built  their  little  homes ;  they  have  worked  for  cheap 
wages  out  in  there,  and  their  children  are  coming  down  into  the 
city  every  day  to  earn  something  to  help  the  home,  and  they 
are  paying  the  most  of  their  wages  for  carfare.  Now,  I  do  not 
see  why  a  clause  cannot  be  put  into  that  contract  by  which  the 
Illinois  Central,  as  a  part  remuneration  for  giving  the  land  up, 
and  having  gotten  what  they  asked  for  out  there,  that  the  peo- 
ple have  a  five-cent  fare  to  the  city  limits  on  their  suburban 
trains. 

The  Chairman  :    "VVliat  is  the  fare  now  from  South  Chicago? 

Mr.  Heron  :     I  think  it  is  ten  cents  from  South  Chicago. 

A  Voice  ;    The  fare  is  fifteen  cents. 

Mr.  Heron  :    Yes. 

The  Chairman  :  The  fare  you  asked  for  is  from  South  Chi- 
cago, is  it? 

Mr.  Heron  :    No,  from  everywhere  out  there. 

The  Chairman:    Does  that  include  Pullman? 

Mr.  Heron  :  Anywhere  on  the  Illinois  Central  between  any 
two  points,  where  the  fare  may  be  ten  cents. 

The  Chairman  :  What  is  the  fare  from  Pullman  down 
town  ? 

Mr.  Heron  :    Fifteen  cents  also. 

Aid.  Block  :  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Heron  whether  he  has 
anything  to  offer  as  to  the  minutes  of  the  ordinance  now  under 
discussion? 

The  Chairman  :    Whether  it  is  a  good  or  bad  ordinance. 

Mr.  Heron:  The  South  Side  Business  Men's  Association 
is  in  favor  of  getting  just  exactly  what  the  ordinance  calls  for 
with  this  exception ;  they  feel  and  believe  and  seem  to  know  that 
the  outer  harbor  is  going  to  be  between  Twenty-ninth  Street  and 
Twelfth  Street,  the  deepest  water  in  the  lake  is  there,  and  they 
feel  that  eventually  a  cut  would  be  made  from  the  lake  right 
through  just  south,  around  Sixteenth  street,  right  through  to 
the  river;  so  that  the  money  spent  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment in  making  a  great  turning  basin  out  in  the  river  there,  can 
be  used  so  that  vessels  can  go  even  down  the  drainage  canal 
without  having  a  multiplicity  of  bridges,  there  being  about  six 
bridges  across  in  there,  and  the  only  thing  is  to  have  some  clause 
hj  which  the  city  can  eventually,  if  they  want  to  make  that  cut 
through  there,  cut  a  water-way  through.  The  outer  harbor  i» 
going  to  go  at  Eighteenth  Street.  There  isn't  any  doubt  about 
it,  because  there  is  no  other  place  on  the  lake  that  it  can  be 
placed,  unless  you  spend  millions  of  money  dredging.  It  is  31 
feet  deep,  I  think,  within  about  250  feet  of  the  shore ;  whereas, 


215 

at  Thirty-first  street  it  is  only  about  23  or  24  feet,  and  shallower 
all  the  way  down.  I  might  speak  about  a  pier  running  out  at 
Twenty-second  street  at  the  lake.  If  you  put  one  there,  you  are 
going  to  fill  up  everything  north  of  Twenty-second  street.  If 
you  put  the  pier  at  Thirty-first  Street,  it  will  fill  north,  and  it 
will  keep  all  of  that  space  south  cleaned  up.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  you  put  a  pier  running  out  into  the  lake,  as  they  claim,  at  Chi- 
cago Avenue  on  the  north,  it  will  fill  up  and  make  the  Streeter 
track  run  out  into  the  lake  further  yet;  whereas,  if  you  put  it  at 
North  Avenue  you  will  then  fill  the  lake  around  Lincoln  Park, 
and  it  would  be  of  some  use  to  the  city  and  not  fill  the  lake  full 
of  land  to  have  future  litigation  about.  The  land  north  of  Thir- 
ty-first Street  will  be  filled  for  harbors  and  kept  clean.  Of 
course  that  is  to  be  considered  later  on. 

The  Chairman  :  What  kind  of  harbor  do  you  think  should 
be  placed  at  this  particular  point.  Eighteenth  Street? 

Mr.  Heron  :    That  is  simply  a  side  issue. 

The  Chairman  :  We  are  going  to  have  harbors  all  along. 
You  are  interested  in  the  request  for  the  incorporation  of  a  five- 
cent  fare  for  the  people  you  represent. 

Mr.  Heron:  Yes.  We  feel  the  matter  under  discussion  is 
equitably  adjusted,  and  protected  by  the  new  features  that  have 
been  presented  by  Mr.  Hoyne  and  0.  K.  'd  by  the  Mayor  and  that 
it  should  go  through ;  but  we  do  believe  that  you  should  now  at 
this  time  take  this  into  consideration  and  give  the  people  out 
south  there  some  benefit.  I  think  it  is  the  duty  of  the  members 
of  the  council,  and  especially  the  aldermen  from  those  wards 
down  there  to  demand  a  five-cent  fare  and  get  it.  It  can  be  got- 
ten, and  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  ask  for  it.  I  think  the  Illinois 
Central  will  give  it  to  us  very  readily. 

Aid.  Emelson  :  Supposing  the  Illinois  Central  would  not 
agree  to  give  a  five-cent  fare,  what  would  your  attitude  be  ? 

Mr.  Heron  :  Make  the  best  bargain  you  can.  Make  it  five 
cents  as  far  as  you  can  go.  I  think  they  ought  to  have  a  five- 
cent  fare  between  all  stations  from  the  main  depot  to  the  city 
limits,  and  no  matter  where  you  maj^  go  on  any  suburban  train, 
from  Hegewisrh  to  South  Chicago,  make  it  five  cents,  and  if  you 
only  want  to  ride  three  or  four  blocks,  five  cents. 

Aid.  Emeeson  :  You  have  not  answered  the  question.  If 
the  Illinois  Central  refused  a  five-cent  fare  to  the  city  limits, 
what  would  the  attitude  of  your  association  be  on  this  point? 

Mr.  Heron  :  Then  leave  the  matter  open  until  such  time  as 
you  could  get  it. 

Aid.  Emfrson  :  Supposing  we  could  not  get  it,  what  would 
be  the  attitude  of  your  association  then? 

Mr.  Heron  :  I  don't  think  there  is  any  doubt  but  what  you 
can  get  it. 


216 

Aid.  Emerson  :  That  is  not  the  question  I  am  asking  yon. 
If  we  could  not  get  a  five-cent  fare  to  the  city  limits,  what  would 
be  the  attitude  of  your  association? 

Mr.  Heron:  'We  feel  that  the  city  is  not  being  compen- 
sated, and  we  would  be  against  it. 

Aid.  Emerson:     You  are  against  it? 

Mr.  Heron  :    We  are  against  it. 

The  Chairman:  We  will  now  listen  to  Mr.  Herman  Ten- 
inga,  representing  the  South  End  Business  Men's  Association. 

Mr.  Teninga  :  I  am  not  going  to  make  a  long  speech.  What 
I  am  going  to  say,  I  would  like  to  read,  with  your  permission 
(reading) : 

Chicago,  February  1,  1912. 

To  the  Committee  on  Harhors,  Wharves  and  Bridges,  of  the  City  Council. 

Gentlemen: — The  South  End  Business  Men's  Association  being  in  thor- 
ough accord  with  the  plan  of  reclaiming  the  shore  lands  for  the  people,  firm- 
ly believe  that  the  proposal  to  permit  the  Illinois  Central  to  build  an  im- 
mense freight  yard  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street  is  so  com- 
pletely out  of  harmony  with  the  project  of  Chicago  Beautiful  as  to  be  un- 
worthy of  serious  public  consideration. 

We  believe  that  no  settlement  should  be  made  which  increases  the  width 
of  the  railroad's  right  of  way  or  permits  an  increase  in  smoke,  soot  or  noise, 
and  that  the  various  reasons  advanced  in  favor  of  the  ratification  of  the 
pending  agreement  are  of  insufficient  weight. 

The  Field  Museum  has  attained  that  success  which  led  Mr.  Field  to 
liberally  provide  for  its  growth  and  support  in  its  present  location  near  our 
center  of  higher  education  (The  Chicago  University)  and  the  general  public 
interest  in  this  institution  is  not  sufficient  to  justify  despoiling  our  lake 
front  in  order  to  give  the  museum  a  commanding  or  central  location. 

The  Illinois  Central  must  soon  build  a  new  depot  to  accommodate  its 
growing  business.  The  widening  and  extension  of  Twelfth  Street  can  be 
provided  for  in  connection  with  the  construction  of  this  depot,  and  is  now 
premature  for  the  reason  that  the  widening  west  of  Michigan  Avenue  has 
not  yet  been  and  may  never  be  accomplished.  The  hoods  north  of  Twelfth 
Street  will  not  be  needed  after  electrification  and  cannot  be  built  before. 
The  viaducts  we  can  always  build.  And,  the  proposed  boulevard  along  a 
railroad  yard  is  an  absurdity. 

We  hold  that  it  is  common  knowledge  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  ac- 
quired most  of  the  shore  lands  it  occupies  by  reclamation  and  unlawful  intru- 
sion on  the  public  domain,  and  that  it  is  bad  policy  to  treat  with  this  com- 
pany on  a  basis  admitting  its  right  to  these  seized  public  lands.  We  firmly 
believe  that  the  title  to  reclaimed  lands  is  in  the  State;  that  the  Illinois 
Central  is  occupying  such  lands  without  legal  right;  that  an  adjudication 
of  these  questions  would  give  the  city  sufficient  power  to  compel  the  railroad 
to  electrify  and  depress  its  tracks  along  the  whole  lake  shore,  and  that  it  is 
better  to  get  a  right  settlement  in  time  than  to  take  a  wrong  one  now. 

We  respectfully  petition  the  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  Chicago  to  refuse  to 
ratify  any  agreement  which  increases  the  Illinois  Central  lake  front  nuisance 
or  the  width  of  its  right  of  way  above  ground,  and  to  take  such  action  as 
lies  in  their  power  to  secure  a  complete  and  early  adjudication  of  the  rights 
of  the  railroad  and  State  as  to  the  made  lands. 

We  urge  that  no  amendments  to  the  present  ordinance  can  gloss  over 
or  cure  the  unwise  and  inequitable  provisions  of  the  contract  made  by  the 
South  Park  Board. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

The  South  End  Business  Men's  Association. 

By  A.  R.  RuNSTEN,  President. 


The  Chairman:  The  South  Side  Business  Men's  Associa- 
tion has  its  territory  on  the  South  Side,  has  iti 

Mr.  Teninga:     Yes,  sir,  Roseland,  Pullman,  Kensington, 

etc. 

The  Chaieman  :    We  would  be  glad  to  listen  to  Professor 

Merriam. 

Professor  Merriam  :  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  or  the 
Committee :  This  plan  now  pending  before  your  committee  is 
based  on  a  certain  doctrine  of  the  City  Beautiful.  To  that  ex- 
tent T  am  heartily  in  favor  of  it.  If  you  look  at  the  outside  cir- 
cle of  park  that  "is  to  be  built  out  from  the  lake  shore,  it  does 
beautify  the  South  Side  of  Chicago,  and  to  that  extent  is  a  bene- 
fit to  the  entire  city.  But  if  you  look  at  the  inner  belt,  that  is 
from  the  present  water  line  in,  it  seems  to  answer  just  the  con- 
trary purpose.  We  now  have  a  belt  of  200  feet  which  creates  a 
good  deal  of  a  nuisance  on  the  South  Side,  and  for  many  years 
the  citizens  there  have  been  endeavoring  to  mitigate  or  modify 
in  some  way  that  nuisance.  Now,  by  the  terms  of  this  proposed 
plan,  you  not  only  retain  the  existing  source  of  trouble  there,  but 
vou  more  than  double  it.  Instead  of  having  200  feet  of  railways 
from  Thirty-first  to  Fifty-first  Street,  we  will  have  400  feet, 
and  from  Twelfth  to  Thirty-first  Street  you  have  not  merely  200 
feet,  but  400  feet,  which  will  more  than  double  the  nuisance  al- 
ready existing  on  the  South  Side.  Instead  of  beautifying  that 
part  of  the  city,  you  will  make  it  rather  more  ugly  than  it  is  at 
present  and  will  increase  the  particular  source  of  trouble  of 
which  we  have  been  complaining  there  for  a  good  many  years. 
You  will  have  400  feet  of  engines  and  tracks  from  Thirty-first 
down,  and  something  like  660  feet  from  there  north ;  from  Thir- 
ty-first Street  north. 

Now,  I  do  not  regard  that  as  a  consistent  part  of  a  plan  for 
the  City  Beautiful.  I  think  it  will  tend  materially  to  decrease 
the  beauty  of  that  particular  section  of  the  city,  and  it  will  in- 
crease to  a  material  extent,  as  far  as  that  feature  of  it  is  con- 
cerned, the  physical  discomfort  of  the  people  who  live  in  that  sec- 
tion of  the  city.  The  outer  part  of  this  plan,  that  part  of  it 
which  provides  for  an  encircling  part  of  boulevards  and  parks 
to  be  laid  out  into  the  lake,  that  unquestionably  is  a  good  thing. 
The  inner  part  of  it,  and  that  which  touches  most  nearly  the  life 
of  the  people,  that  plan  has  been  thoroughly  discussed  here.  I 
don 't  know  that  I  could  add  very  much  to  that  particular  side  of 
it,  but  we  do  not  appreciate  the  prospect  of  400  feet  of  railways 
and  engines,  if  they  are  to  be  put  through  down  as  far  as  Thirty- 
first  Street,  and  then  the  great  freight  yard  and  terminal  sta- 
tion from  there  down. 

There  has  been  some  argument  on  the  financial  aspects  of 
this  question,  there  has  been  some  discussion  as  to  the  relative 


218 

merits  of  the  trade  as  a  bargain,  and  as  to  whether  the  city 
has  received  what  it  should  have  received,  and  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral on  its  part  received  what  it  should  have  received.  Various 
discussions  have  been  had  as  to  the  relative  owners  of  lands  that 
luive  been  exchanged.  Some  gentlemen  have  gone  so  far,  I  un- 
derstand, as  to  say  that  the  strip  of  water  given  to  the  Illinois 
Central  is  worth  nothing  at  all.  I  am  not  inclined  to  agree  with 
that  view  of  it.  The  right  to  fill  in  that  particular  strip  of  200 
feet,  although  it  is  now  water,  is  certainly  a  very  valuable  thing 
commercially.  It  has  a  market  value.  It  could  be  bought  and 
sold,  and  when  that  part  is  filled  in,  you  have  your  strip  of  200 
feet.  It  is  restricted  to  railway  purposes,  I  believe,  under  this 
modified  ordinance,  is  that  it,  Mr.  Hoyne? 

Mr.  Hoyne:    Yes. 

Prof.  Merriam:  It  seems  to  be  generally  conceded  that  it 
would  not  be  a  good  bargain  except  that  the  Park  Board  does  not 
possess  the  right  to  condemn  the  riparian  rights  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad.  Mr.  Donnersberger  stated  to  me,  and  I  un- 
derstand that  other  gentlemen  here  have  conceded,  that  if  the 
Park  Board  possessed  that  power,  this  bargain  would  not  be 
made.  That  is  to  say,  if  we  had  the  power  to  condemn  these 
rights,  a  better  bargain  could  be  made.  Whatever  that  differ- 
ence is,  of  course,  measures  in  a  way  the  loss  of  the  city,  I 
think  the  reason  why  the  South  Park  Board  does  not  have  the 
right  to  condemn  the  riparian  rights  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road, or  any  other  property  owner  along  the  lake  shore,  is  quite 
clear.  Somebody  has  been  able  to  obstruct  or  prevent  legislation 
in  Springfield.  Somebody  has  so  far  controlled  the  law-making 
yjrocess  in  that  city  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  give  the  public 
the  rights  to  which  they  are  entitled,  under  any  fair  interpreta- 
tion. Now  the  city  is  asked  to  pay  the  bill.  I  am  not  in  favor  of 
paying  the  bill.  I  am  not  in  favor  of  legalizing  the  particular 
advantage  which  has  been  gained  by  obstructing  le.gislation  in 
the  public  interests.  I  think  the  legislation  could  and  should  be 
obtained.  The  Governor  of  this  state  has  said,  I  understand 
from  Mr.  Rosenthal,  that  he  would  call,  if  desired,  an  extra  ses- 
sion to  give  the  city  or  the  Park  Board  the  power  to  condemn 
these  riparian  rights ;  and  when  the  power  to  acquire  these  rights 
by  condemnation  is  acquired,  then  it  seems  generally  to  be  con- 
ceded that  a  better  bargain  on  the  part  of  the  city  can  be  ob- 
tained. 

I  do  not  intend.  Mr.  Chairman,  to  discuss  minor  features. 
I  do  not  think  it  is  a  good  bargain  for  the  city,  and  I  think  it 
will  not  tend  to  bring  about  the  City  Beautiful  in  Chicago  if  we 
permit  this  increase  of  railway  and  track  facilities  to  iDelt  and 
gird  the  south  shore. 

Mr.  Butler:     I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Merriam  about  one 


219 

minor  question  which  he  has  not  touched  on.  What  about  the 
Field  Museum;  how  can  we  get  the  Field  Museum  down  on  the 
lake  front  I 

Prof.  Mekriam  :  I  think  that  it  would  be  desirable  to  have 
the  Field  Museum  down  on  the  lake  front,  but  I  would  not  be 
willing  to  pay  that  price  for  it.  I  think  it  is  too  much  of  a  con- 
cession to  make. 

The  Chairman:  Is  there  anybody  else  that  wants  to  be 
heard?  We  shall  be  glad  to  listen  to  those  who  have  not  been 
heard,  if  they  wish  to  be  heard  at  this  time. 

Mr.  Lee  :  What  has  become  of  the  opinion  of  the  Chicago 
Title  &  Trust  Company?  We  are  very  much  interested  in  that, 
and  would  like  to  hear  that  before  we  make  any  further  remarks. 

Mr.  Eedfield:  I  saw  it,  possibly  it  was  handed  to  the 
Mayor. 

The  Chairman  :  Has  the  Corporation  Counsel  the  opinion 
referred  to! 

Mr.  Hoyne  :    I  have  not  seen  it,  Mr.  Chairman. 

Mr.  Damon  :  I  spoke  in  favor  of  an  early  settlement  of  the 
ordinance,  but  I  have  heard  that  a  better  trade  might  be  made, 
that  the  South  Park  Board  might  be  able  to  secure  a  better 
trade  than  the  one  secured.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Council  can  get  a  better  bargain  from  the  Illinois  Central,  and 
for  that  reason  I  withdraw  my  support. 

Aid.  Emef.son:  Mr.  Eedfield,  you  say  you  have  seen  the 
opinion  from  the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company? 

Mr.  Rldfield:  Yes,  when  I  was  in  the  Corporation  Coun- 
sel's office  this  morning,  I  saw  the  opinion  from  the  Title  Guar- 
antee Company,  together  with  a  large  package  of  opinions  of 
title.  In  substance,  gentlemen,  that  showed  that  the  fee  was  in 
the  Ilhnois  Central  to  approximately  ninety  per  cent,  of  the 
shore  lands. 

Aid.  Emerson:    Was  this  presented  to  this  committee? 

The  Chairman  :    It  will  be. 

\Ir.  HoYNE :  In  reference  to  that,  I  only  want  to  say  this : 
I  was  looking  for  Mr.  Sexton.  I  was  told  he  was  down  here  at 
this  meeting.  I  don't  know  where  he  is,  and  I  have  not  seen 
those  papers. 

Mr.  Eedfield:  He  is  before  the  Finance  Committee;  with 
the  Mayor  before  the  Finance  Committee. 

Mr.  Hoyne :    T  don't  suppose  there  is  anything  he  could  add 
or  that  I  could  say.    I  have  not  seen  it.    Was  it  a  short  opinion 
Mr.  Eedfield? 

Mr.  Eedfield:    Absolutely. 

Mr.  Hoyne:    If  the  Chairman  wishes,  I  will  try  and  get  it. 

Mr.  Eedfield  :  It  certifies,  my  recollection  is,  that  the  road 's 
right  of  way  from  Park  Row  to  Fifty-first  Street  is  so  many 


220 

feet ;  then  it  certifies  that  for  a  certain  number  of  those  feet  the 
title  to  the  shore  hind  is  in  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  I  as- 
sume that  it  is  a  legal  proposition  that  the  riparian  rights  at- 
tached to  the  shore  line. 

The  Chairman:    Is  that  a  guarantee  policy? 

Mr.  Redfield:  It  is  a  certificate.  "We  do  hereby  certify" 
and  so  on,  and  so  on. 

Aid.  Derpa  :  Does  that  certificate  apply  to  the  shore  line  of 
the  government  survey  or  the  shore  line  after  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral got  through  filling  in? 

Mr.  Redfield  :    It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  shore  line. 

The  Chairman:  1  have  no  doubt  the  opinion  will  be  intro- 
duced in  evidence  here  in  time  for  the  committee  to  go  into  it, 
particularly  as  the  committee  will  take  that  up  as  a  subject  mat- 
ter when  we  meet  to  consider  the  ordinance;  so  we  will  go  on 
with  the  discussion  of  the  merits  or  demerits  of  this  ordinance. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissengen  :  If  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  listen 
to  me,  what  I  have  to  say  is  not  something  especially  new,  but 
rather  old.  Sometimes  we  can  learn  a  little  from  past  history 
that  may  serve  us  as  a  guide  for  future  transactions.  I  spent  a 
few  hours  this  morning  over  at  the  Public  Library,  and  I  would 
like  to  read  a  few  extracts  from  the  newspapers  at  the  time  of 
the  lake  front  settlement,  which  are  all  apropos  to  the  present 
proposition  (reading) : 

Chicago  Tribune,  October  22,  1895.    Page  2. 

From  speech  of  Mayor  Swift  to  City  Council  upon  passing  I.  C.  Lake  Front 

Ordinance: 

"Under  this  arrangement  the  citizens  who  walk  along  Michigan  Avenue 
boulevard  will  not  know  there  is  any  railroad  there  except  by  the  smoke  and 
whistles,  and  we  hope  in  two  years  they  will  not  see  any  smoke,  for  Presi- 
dent Fish  told  me  that  in  that  time  he  will  probably  have  an  electrical 
apparatus." 
Ald.  Madden  for  the  Ordinance: 

"We  are  here  about  to  see  one  of  the  most  beautiful  parks  ever  estab- 
lished anywhere  on  earth." 
Tribune,  October  18,  1895. 
John  Dunn,  Assistant  to  President  Fish,  says  (referring  to  proposed  south 

shore  boulevard) : 

"That  boulevard  is  but  a  visionary  project,  anyhow,  and  I  do  not  think 
it  will  ever  be  realized.  The  men  advocating  it  do  not  know  what  they  are 
undertaking.  The  cost  of  protecting  the  shore  itself,  if  known  to  the  tax- 
payers, would  stagger  them.  The  Illinois  Central  has  been  protecting  this 
shore  for  forty  years  now,  and  we  know  something  about  it.  This  boulevard 
would  cost  millions  and  is  in  every  way  an  impracticable  project." 

This  boulevard,  if  built,  would  shut  the  railroad  off  from 
access  to  the  lake  and  utterly  destroy  its  riparian  rights.  These 
rights  the  company  has  been  buying  from  year  to  year,  paying 
an  average  of  $25  a  foot  for  them,  until  now  it  owns  the  entire 
riparian  rights  on  the  shore  from  Twelfth  to  Fiftieth  Streets.. 


221 

with  the  exoejjtion  of  three  tracts  which  in  the  aggregate  do  not 
amount  to  more  than  200  feet. 

If  the  bonlevard  were  built,  these  riparian  rights  would  have 
to  be  condemned  and  the  company  paid  for  them,  but  the  direc- 
tors do  not  believe  a  jury  would  give  the  company  even  as  much 
as  it  paid  for  them,  much  less  put  the  value  on  them  which  it 
does. 

Editorial,  Tribune,  October  15,  1895. 

(Referring  to  driveway  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Jackson  Park.) 

"This  suggested  driveway,  if  ever  constructed,  would  be  about  five  miles 
long.  It  would  be  constructed  east  of  the  Illinois  Central  tracks  out  in 
deep  water.  As  it  will  have  to  stand  the  shock  of  winter  waves  and  ice,  it 
would  have  to  be  very  solidly  built  of  stout  oak  piles,  strong  ijon  clamps 
or  braces,  and  durable  rock.  To  perform  this  work  so  that  it  would  not 
have  to  be  repaired  from  year  to  year,  like  the  government  cribs,  would  cost 
four  millions  of  dollars.  Where  is  the  money  to  come  from  and  when  will 
it  be  raised? 

"It  would  be  pleasant  if  in  the  summer  season  one  could  drive  down 
Michigan  Avenue  to  Washington  and  Jackson  Parks,  and  then  return  by 
way  of  this  proposed  lake  driveway.  But  the  luxury  will  cost  lots  of  money. 
The  Legislature  will  have  to  pass  a  law  under  which  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners can  build  this  boulevard.  The  riparian  rights  of  the  Illinois 
Central  and  other  shore  owners  will  have  to  be  condemned  and  large  sums 
of  bonds  sold  to  construct  it.  The  property  owners  in  Lake,  the  western  part 
of  Hyde  Park,  and  the  western  portions  of  South  Chicago,  may  kick  vigor- 
ously against  the  proposed  scheme  at  their  expense." 
Chicago  Tribune,  April  1,  1908. 
Editorial. 

(Electrify  the  terminals.) 

"An  official  of  the  road  (Illinois  Central)  recently  said  that  electricity 
as  motive  power  was  out  of  the  question  so  far  as  the  Illinois  Central  was 
concerned.  Success  elsewhere  makes  such  conclusion  impossible  of  accept- 
ance. The  electrification  of  terminals  must  come.  The  city  cannot  much 
longer  permit  the  smoking  locomotives  of  its  many  engines  to  defile  the 
atmosphere." 

Aid.  KuNz :  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  a  ques- 
tion. 

The  Chaikman  :    Very  well. 

Aid.  KuNz :  Are  you  in  the  real  estate  business,  Mr.  Van 
Vlissingen. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :     Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  KuNz :  Are  you  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Eeal  Estate 
Board? 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :     No,  sir. 

Aid.  KuNz:    That  is  all. 

The  Chairman:  Is  there  any  one  else  that  wishes  to  be 
heard  now? 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  am  sorry  that  we  did  not  have  that  opinion  from 
the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company  reversing  the  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court.    I  would  like  to  say  a  few  words. 

Aid.  KuNz:    Let  me  ask  you:    What  business  are  you  in? 


222 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  am  editor  and  publisher,  and  also  a  civil  engi- 
neer of  Chicago. 

Aid.  KuNz:    Connected  with  what  daily  paper? 

Mr.  Lee  :     A  weekly  suburban  paper  in  South  Chicago. 

Aid.  KuNZ :  You  heard  sometime  ago  the  reference  to  the 
Illinois  Steel  Company's  plant  in  corraling  a  lot  of  land  through 
the  Illinois  Legislature.  I  believe  some  mention  was  made  at 
that  time  that  you  were  in  favor  of  that. 

Mr.  Lee  :    Yes. 

Aid.  KuNz:    In  favor  of  that  acquisition? 

Mr.  Lee:    Yes. 

Mr.  KuNZ  :  Your  paper  at  that  time  favored  the  acquisition 
of  that  land  by  the  Illinois  Steel  Company's  grant! 

Mr.  Lee  :    Yes. 

Aid.  KuNz :  Was  that  the  demand  of  the  people  or  the  de- 
mand of  the  Illinois  Steel  Company? 

Mr.  Lee:  It  was  the  demand  of  the  people  of  South  Chi- 
caj^o,  the  South  Chicago  Business  Men's  Association. 

Aid.  KuNz :  You  traveled  to  Springfield  to  help  the  Illinois 
Steel  Company  to  receive  the  grant  ? 

Mr.  Lee:'  I  traveled  to  Springfield  to  get  that  legislation 
passed,  yes. 

Aid*.  KuNZ :  You  personally  and  your  paper  were  very  much 
for  it  and  you  did  get  a  great  deal  of  advertising  in  the  interests, 
of  the  Illinois  Steel  Company's  grant  at  that  time,  did  you  not? 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  don 't  know,  there  may  have  been  some  adver- 
tising that  favored  the  proposition. 

Aid.  KuNz :    You  favored  the  proposition? 

Mr.  Lee  :    Yes. 

Aid.  KuNZ :    Did  you  do  that  gratis? 

Mr.  Lee  :    We  did  it  gratis. 

Aid.  KuNz:  You  received  no  pay  at  all  from  the  Illinois 
Steel  Company? 

Mr.  Lee  :  No,  we  believed  that  to  be  in  the  interest  of  the 
community. 

Aid.  KuNZ :  Were  your  expenses  paid  or  did  you  pay  your 
own  expenses  traveling  to  Springfield  and  back? 

Mr.  Lee  :  Personally  I  had  an  advertising  arrangement  at 
that  time — I  consider  that  question  rather  an  impertinent  one. 

Aid.  KuNz:    You  need  not  answer  if  you  don't  want  to. 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  will  state,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned  personally, 
I  had  an  advertising  arrangement  at  that  time  with  the  Illinois 
Central  Eailroad  for  exchanging  advertising  for  transporta- 
tion. 

Aid.  KuNz :    Will  you  answer  my  question  now? 

Mr.  Lee  :    I  am  answering  it. 

Aid.  KuNz :    Did  the  Illinois  Steel  Company  pay  any  of  your 


\ 


22:} 

expenses  for  traveling  to  Springfield  and  lobbying  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  grant? 

Mr.  Lee  :    Not  that  I  know  of,  sir. 

Aid.  KuNz:    You  paid  your  own? 

The  Chaieman:  What  has  that  got  to  do  with  this  ques- 
tion? 

Aid.  KuNZ :  I  wanted  to  know.  I  have  a  right  to  go  into 
that  phase  of  it. 

The  Chairman:  Do  you  wish  to  make  any  remarks,  Mr. 
Lee? 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  have  found  it  safer  to  put  my  remarks  in  writ- 
ing, as  I  find  the  proceedings  of  this  committee  are  edited,  blue- 
penciled,  and  therefore  it  is  better  to  have  the  remarks  in  writ- 
ing, so  that  there  can  be  no  question  about  it. 

Aid.  Block:    Who  edits  them? 

Mr.  Lee:  I  don't  know,  Aid.  Block.  I  presume  it  is  the  of- 
ficial editor  who  blue-pencils  the  proceedings.  I  do  know,  how- 
ever— 

Aid.  Block  :  You  mean  the  official  proceedings  of  this  com- 
mittee are  edited  by  this  committee? 

Mr.  Lee  :  I  don 't  know  who  edits  them.  I  only  know  the 
result.  I  only  know  somewhere  between  this  room  and  the  Coun- 
cil Chamber  and  the  budget,  that  the  result  as  submitted  to  the 
City  Council  was  changed.  The  proposed  bond  issue,  instead  of 
as  this  committee  proposed,  to  be  for  harbor  construction,  was 
changed  to  outer  harbor  construction.    That  is  one  incident. 

The  Chairman  :  What  has  that  to  do  with  this  subject  mat- 
ter that  is  now  under  discussion? 

Mr.  Lee:    That  was  in  answer  to  the  Alderman's  question. 

The  Chairman:  I  assume  3^ou  have  an  idea  there  is  some 
prejudice  shown  here  by  the  committee  on  what  has  been  hand- 
ed in. 

Mr.  Lee  :    There  has  been  some  blue-penciling  in  the  past. 

The  Chairman:  We  are  talking  about  this  matter  under 
discussion  now.  What  the  newspapers  print  about  what  is  going 
on  here  is  none  of  my  business  or  your  business. 

Mr.  Lee  :    No.    Shall  I  proceed,  Mr.  Chairman  ? 

The  Chairman  :    Yes. 

Mr.  Lee:     Very  well,  I  will  proceed  (reading) : 

ADDRESS  OF  HENRY  W.  LEE  BEFORE  CITY  COUNCIL  COMMITTEE  ON  HARBORS,  WHARVES 
AND  BRIDGES,   FEBRUARY   2,    1912. 

If  the  elected  and  appointed  officials  of  the  people  were  sincere  in  their 
expressed  desire  to  build  an  outer  boulevard  along  the  lake  shore,  they 
would  welcome  the  information  received  here  that  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  finds  that  the  title  to  this  land  now  is  in  the  State  of  Illinois 
and  that  the  railroad  has  no  riparian  rights  there.  They  would  welcome 
this  opportunity  to  start  their  Chicago  Beautiful  plans  at  once,  without 
asking  permission  from  the  railroad  that  has  no  shore  rights.     When  we 


224 

see  them  continuing  their  efforts  to  brazen  out  the  contract  which  would 
double  the  smoke  nuisance,  we  are  forced  to  the  opinion  that  the  chief  pur- 
pose of  this  project  is  not  Chicago  Beautiful,  but  the  other  features  of  the 
contract  which  involve  the  deeding  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  of  162 
acres  of  land  to  be  used  for  railroad  purposes  or  sold,  presumably  to  the 
Chicago  Junction  Railroad,  controlled  by  the  packing  interests,  who  are  bo 
ably  represented  upon  the  South  Park  Board. 

And  the  plan  dates  back  some  years  to  the  time  when  the  right  of  con- 
demnation was  denied  the  South  Park  Board,  although  that  right  was  given 
to  .the  Lincoln  Park  Board.  It  will  therefore  be  cheerful  news  to  the  South 
Park  Board  that  they  need  fear  no  opposition  from  the  railroad  in  their 
public-spirited  plans  for  Chicago  Beautiful,  it  will  relieve  them  greatly  to 
learn  that  the  right  of  condemnation  is  not  necessary  in  the  case  of  the 
Illinois  Central  that  has  no  shore  rights,  and  to  which  the  State  Legislature 
could  not  grant  riparian  rights  if  it  wanted  to,  these  rights  being  inalienable 
and  held  in  trust  for  the  people  for  purposes  of  navigation  and  fisheries. 
This  is  the  decision  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  as  we  have  learned.  The 
board  may  therefore  start  to  build  its  outer  boulevard  today  with  as  much 
impunity  as  a  man  can  build  a  fence  on  his  own  lot  without  asking  the 
consent  of  his  next  door  neighbor. 

We  do  not  believe  that  any  law  suit  is  necessary,  nor  any  delay.  It  is 
unfortunate  that  the  appointed  and  elected  officials  of  the  people,  instead  of 
accepting  the  decisions  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  and  the  opinions  of  the 
Attorney  General  of  the  State,  and  State's  Attorney  of  Cook  County,  the  Cor- 
poration Counsel  of  Chicago  and  other  learned  counsel,  who  say  that  the  I. 
C.  R.  R.  has  illegally  filled  in  land  along  its  entire  right  of  way  between 
Fifty-first  and  Sixteenth  Streets,  and  that  title  to  this  shore  land  is  in  the 
State  and  not  in  the  railroad — instead  of  accepting  this,  we  find  the  officials 
who  should  fight  for  the  rights  of  the  people,  fighting  against  them  and 
bringing  in  here  a  so-called  certificate  of  title  from  a  concern  that  is  willing 
to  make  a  wager  upon  the  proposition  (no  doubt  for  suitable  consideration) 
and  that  has  the  infinitely  ridiculous  effrontery  to  set  up  its  opinion  against 
that  of  the  highest  tribunal  in  the  land  and  reverse  the  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court. 

We  believe  this  case  can  be  settled  out  of  court  and  rightly  and  soon. 
The  city  and  South  Park  Board  appear  to  be  both  represented  by  a  single 
law  firm,  and  there  should  be  little  friction  between  the  South  Park  Board 
and  the  Chicago  Junction,  the  packers'  railroad,  as  we  find  the  president  of 
the  board  and  the  attorney  for  the  railroad  to  be  one  and  the  same  man, 
John  Barton  Payne.  An  interesting  parallel  to  that  other  case  of  dual  rep- 
resentation disclosed  the  other  day,  that  Dr.  Jekyl  and  Mr.  Hyde  who  repre- 
sented the  people  on  one  side  and  denied  the  railroad  shore  rights,  and  on 
the  other  hand  in  his  capacity  as  alderman  and  member  of  this  committee, 
was  the  most  active  go-between,  rushing  from  the  Mayor's  office  to  this 
room  in  tremendous  haste  to  have  this  committee  pass  this  infamous  meas- 
ure, section  by  section,  as  fast  as  the  tentative  agreement  could  be  type- 
written upstairs — this  chairman  of  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commis- 
sion, evidently  formed  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Chicago  Junction  Railroads. 

This  stake  is  worth  paying  for,  Mr.  Chairman.  It  is  twenty  millions, — 
some  say  a  hundred  millions  worth  of  public  lands.  It  is  a  project  that 
would  put  to  shame  the  greatest  exploit  of  Capt.  Kidd  or  any  other  adven- 
turer of  the  Spanish  main.  Why  it  even  approaches  in  magnitude  the 
Panama  Canal,  and  far  transcends  our  own  drainage  canal  in  value. 

With  this  infamous  bargain  consummated,  the  people  would  be  shut  off 
from  the  lake  front  forever  by  an  impenetrable  barrier  of  smoke,  soot  and 
railroad  tracks.  The  I.  C.  would  be  entrenched  forever  on  its  present  illegal 
holdings,  which  would  be  doubled.  As  this  is  evidently  the  main  purpose 
of  the  deal,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  people  would  ever  get  the  outer  boulevard, 
which  these  vested  interests  say  is  at  stake,  but  which  they  know  can  be 
started  tomorrow  without  any  condemnation  or  other  legal  proceedings. 

I  entered  this  fight  to  save  the  proceeds  of  the  bond   issue  of  1907, 


225 

authorized  for  the  purpose  of  buying  and  equipping  small  parks  in  the 
Calumet  region.  I  did  not  want  this  money  dumped  into  Lake  Michigan. 
I  stayed  in  the  fight  when  I  discovered  a  conspiracy  to  steal  millions  of 
dollars  worth  of  public  lands,  under  the  guise  of  City  Beautiful,  Field 
Museum,  widening  of  Twelfth  Street,  danger  of  delay,  future  of  our  fair 
city,  and  other  side  issues  and  incidentals  which  these  gentlemen  are  urging, 
these  citizens  of  high  standing  in  our  community  that  are  allowing  them- 
selves to  be  used  as  cats'  paws  to  pull  these  valuable  chestnuts  out  of  the 
fire  for  the  railroads,  the  result  of  which  will  be  to  ruin  the  lake  front 
forever  instead  of  beautifying  it,  as  falsely  claimed. 

The  Illinois  Central  will  not  dare  oppose  the  immediate  construction  of 
the  outer  boulevard.  I  am  glad  after  all  that  this  thing  came  up.  We  have 
learned  that  the  railroad  does  not  even  own  its  present  right  of  way.  The 
Chipperfield  Report  says  that  it  is  a  trespasser.  And  I  hope  you  will  again 
read  page  183  of  that  document.  Instead  of  getting  double  its  present  road- 
way, the  Illinois  Central  will  be  lucky  to  retain  what  it  now  holds.  The 
city  is  in  a  position,  if  our  representatives  will  prove  faithful  to  their  trust, 
to  compel  the  Illinois  Central  to  immediately  electrify  and  depress  its  tracks. 
Then  we  will  have  access  to  the  lake.  Then  we  will  have  a  decent  approach 
to  a  real  parkway  without  any  smoke,  or  soot,  or  nuisance.  Then  at  last 
Chicago  will  come  into  enjoyment  of  Lake  Michigan,  hitherto  the  most 
secluded  large  body  of  water  in  the  world,  and  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
the  exclusive  property  of  the  Illinois  Central.  Then  we  will  have  a  real 
Chicago  Beautiful,  one  not  purchased  at  the  price  of  municipal  dishonor. 
This  ordinance  should  be  placed  on  file.  No  amendments  should  be  con- 
sidered. The  entire  proposition  is  an  insult  to  decent  citizenship  and  to  the 
intelligence  of  this  committee. 

Aid.  KuNz:  Now,  Mr.  Lee,  another  question.  You  stated 
a  great  deal  about  the  Chipperfield  Report.  Would  you  consider 
the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  Chipperfield  Eeport  as  good 
legal  authority? 

Mr.  Lee:  I  should  say  yes,  Mr.  Alderman.  I  studied  the 
Chipperfield  Report  very  thoroughly.  It  is  an  exhaustive  docu- 
ment in  several  volumes. 

Aid.  KuNz :  Whv  would  you  consider  it  good  legal  author- 
ity? 

Mr.  Lee:  I  will  tell  you;  I  have  looked  into  it  very  thor- 
oughly, and  it  shows  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  situation.  There 
were  a  number  of  lawyers  on  the  committee,  and  it  was  prepared 
at  the  instruction  of  the  State  Legislature  and  by  their  authority. 
It  has  been  received  by  the  State  Legislature,  as  Mr.  Comerford' 
told  you,  and  I  consider  the  Chipperfield  Report  at  the  present 
time— -of  course,  always  excepting  the  decisions  of  the  courts — I 
consider  it^the  highest  possible  authority  on  the  case  in  point. 

Aid.  KuNz :  Now,  in  case  the  Legislature  will  receive  a  re- 
port on  the  committee,  that  committee  might  err  in  its  report. 

Mr.  Lee:    Certainly. 

Aid.  KuNz :  Are  you  an  authority  on  law  to  know  whether 
the  report  and  the  legal  points  raised,  whether  they  would  be 
constitutional  or  not? 

Mr.  Lee  :    I  am  not  a  lawyer. 

Aid.  KuNZ :    The  reason  I  asked  you  whether  you  thought 


226 

it  was  a  good  report,  whether  the  report  was  based  on  legal  au- 
thority, you  said  they  were. 

Mr.  Lee  :    That  is  my  opinion. 

Aid.  KuNz:    So  far  as  you  know! 

Mr.  Lee  :    Yes,  so  far  as  I  know. 

Mr.  Stanley  Field  :  In  reference  to  this  Illinois  Steel  Com- 
pany's  land,  the  200  acres  filled  in,  I  understand  that  the  report 
on  that  was  exactly  the  same  as  on  the  Illinois  Central.  What 
do  you  think  of  it  in  that  connection?  You  expressed  such  ad- 
miration for  it. 

Mr.  Lee  :    I  have  not  read  that  portion  of  the  report. 

Mr.  Field  :    Then  you  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  look  it  up! 

Mr.  Lee  :    The  report  was  not  in  existence  at  that  time. 

Mr.  Field:    You  did  not  look  it  up? 

Mr.  Lee  :    It  was  not  in  existence. 

Mr.  Field  :    In  other  words,  it  depends  on  whose  ox  is  to  be 
gored. 
'     Mr.  Lee  :    Not  at  all. 

Mr.  Field  :  You  went  to  Springfield  for  the  200-acre  grant 
of  the  Illinois  Steel  Company,  and  the  report  on  that  is  the  same 
as  on  the  Illinois  Central. 

Mr.  Heeon  :  Mr.  Lee,  are  the  people  in  the  neighborhood 
where  you  publish  a  newspaper  in  favor  of  a  five-cent  fare,  pro- 
viding this  ordinance  does  go  through,  this  agreement? 

Mr.  Lee:  The  people  in  the  neighborhood  that  you  refer 
to,  that  is,  in  South  Chicago,  and  also  in  the  Pullman  and  Eose- 
land  district,  have  both  presented  petitions  to  this  committee 
and  are  on  record  as  absolutely  opposed  to  this  proposition. 
They  have  not  touched  on  the  five-cent  fare  question  at  all. 

Mr.  Heeon  :  Isn't  it  true  that  the  newspapers  of  your  vicin- 
ity have  written  editorials  commenting  upon  the  fact  that  this 
matter  had  been  brought  up  about  the  five-cent  fare,  and  spoke 
of  it,  that  it  should  be  acted  on  by  all  business  men? 

Mr.  Lee:    In  this  connection? 

Mr.  Heron:    Yes. 

Mr.  Lee  :    Not  that  I  know  of. 

The  Chairman:  Is  there  anyone  else  present  that  wishes 
to  be  heard? 

Mr.  Comerford:  I  want  to  make  one  observation  in  leav- 
ing the  committee,  and  that  is  touching  upon  the  certificate  of 
the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company.  The  certificate  in  ques- 
tion does  not  certify  to  anything  that  will  throw  any  light  on 
the  questions  raised  here  by  myself  and  others  opposing  the 
ordinance. 

Aid.  KuNz:    How  do  you  know?    Did  you  see  it? 

Mr.  Comerford:  I  can  say  that  by  my  general  knowledge 
of  the  certificates  issued  by  the  Title  &  Trust  Company. 


227 

Aid.  KuNz :    That  is  for  the  committee  to  judge. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD :  If  I  may  be  permitted  to  make  a  state- 
ment and  call  the  committee's  attention  to  that  feature  of  it, 
that  the  proposed  proposition  raised  here  questioning  the  Illi- 
nois Central's  title  or  right  to  riparian  rights  along  the  right 
of  way  between  Fifty-first  and  Park  Row,  or  Twelfth  Street, 
is  a  proposition  that  the  Law  Department  of  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago will  have  to  pass  upon,  the  Title  &  Trust  Company  will 
merely  pass  upon  the  question  of  fee. 

Mr.  Redfield:  You  are  absolutely  right  on  that  score. 
This  is  merely  a  question  of  record  title. 

Mr.  CoMERFORD :    That  is  it. 

Mr.  HoYNE :  There  will  be  no  difference  among  any  of  the 
lawyers  here,  so  far  as  the  questions  that  have  been  discussed 
here  concern  that  certificate.  If  it  is  any  different  from  the 
ordinary  certificate  I  shall  be  greatly  surprised.  I  agree  with 
Mr.  Redfield  and  Mr.  Comerford.  That  certificate,  you  will  find 
when  you  look  at  it,  will  not  assume  to  pass  on  riparian  rights. 
They  will  merely  say  this,  that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  has  acquired  the  fee  in  the  land  over  which  they  have 
the  right  of  way,  and  it  won't  say  anything  more  on  it. 

Mr.  Comerford  :  Mr.  Hoyne  has  very  well  stated  what  was 
in  my  mind  and  what  I  intended  to  state.  The  reason  I  make 
the  statement  at  this  time  is  simply  this:  The  newspaper  ac- 
counts of  the  certificate  of  title  recently  circulated  through  this 
community  have  given  the  majority  of  the  lay  members  of  the 
community  the  opinion  that  the  legal  objections  raised  by  those 
opposing  the  ordinance  have  been  entirely  cured  and  satisfied 
by  an  expression  of  opinion  from  that  expert  source  known  as 
the  Title  &  Trust  Company;  it  following,  no  doubt,  that  they, 
having  made  an  exhaustive  examination  of  title  and  passing 
upon  the  matters,  those  who  had  opposed  would  have  been,  so 
to  speak,  driven  out  of  court.  It  was  agreed  to  ask  the  com- 
mittee to  speak  to  the  Corporation  Counsel's  office  for  an  opin- 
ion on  the  following  propositions.  First,  we  were  to  ask  the 
committee  to  ask  the  Corporation  Counsel's  office  of  the  City 
of  Chicago  to  advise  the  committee  whether  or  not  the  Illinois 
Central  could  ever  have  riparian  rights  to  any  property  that  it 
holds  under  the  State  grant  by  limitation  and  expression  in 
Section  3  of  this  charter.  The  courts  have  held  that  the  Illinois 
Central  merely  has  the  title  of  licensee.  Second,  to  ask  the  com- 
mittee to  ask  the  Corporation  Counsel  for  an  opinion  on  the 
proposition  whether,  even  if  the  Illinois  Central  owned  the  fee 
to  the  property  that  was  in  contact  with  the  lake  at  one  time, 
and  as  a  consequence  had  rir)arian  rights,  if  subsequently  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  having  by  trespass  and  encroachment 
filled  in  submerged  land  belonging  to  the   State,    so   that   by 


228      • 

wrongful  act  it  destroyed  its  contact  with  the  lake,  whether  or 
not  tiiat  act  of  trespass  and  encroachment  which  destroys  one 
of  the  necessary  requirements  to  riparian  rights,  does  not  cut 
otf  its  riparian  rights  to  even  tlie  land  to  which  at  one  time  it 
had  riparian  rights. 

I  want  to  be  very  fair  to  the  committee.  I  have  indulged 
myself  in  a  discussion  of  some  of  the  features  of  this  matter, 
and  have  on  one  or  two  occasions  read  from  some  of  its  find- 
ings. I  want  to  say.  Alderman  Kunz,  that  while  the  facts  upon 
which  the  Chipperfield  Eeport  is  based  may  or  may  not  be 
erroneous,  tho  only  fundamental  proposition  is  this:  that  the 
Illinois  Legislature,  crooked  or  straight,  representative  or  un- 
representative of  the  people  of  Illinois,  under  our  scheme  of 
political  local  government,  represents  the  public  policy  of  ther 
State  of  Illinois,  and  Avhen  its  committee  in  its  name  makes  a 
report,  and  that  report  is  not  only  received  but  approved,  it 
raises  a  presumption  that  that  is  the  public  policy  of  this  State. 
Until  that  presumption  is  affirmatively  repealed  by  subsequent 
legislation,  or  until  that  assumption  is  disturbed  by  the  intro- 
duction of  new  facts,  our  position  here  has  merely  been,  first, 
that  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  Company  does  not  possess 
riparian  rights,  if  the  facts  stated  in  the  Chipperfield  Eeport 
are  true,  and  in  the  absence  of  truth  to  the  contrary,  that  pre- 
sumption prevails;  and,  second,  as  a  legal  proposition,  that  as  a 
licensee  holding  its  property  under  the  grant  of  the  State,  it 
could  never  have  riparian  rights,  and  in  such  instances  as  it 
purchased  shore  land,  and  by  encroachment  and  trespass  de- 
veloped the  submerged  land  of  the  State  into  its  own  private 
property,  it  removed  itself,  and  destroyed  and  forfeited  by  its 
own  wrongful  act  its  own  riparian  rights. 

I  am  not  saying  that  the  Chipperfield  Eeport  is  based  on 
facts.  I  had  a  conversation  with  the  gentleman  who  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  State  to  carry  on  the  litigation,  Mr.  Holt.  And 
Mr.  Holt  told  me  that  after  exhaustive  investigation  of  the 
Chipperfield  Eeport,  he  found  in  some  instances  he  could  not 
get  the  committee  to  substantiate  by  facts  some  of  the  findings. 
I  am  perfectly  fair  to  the  committee  in  stating  that  it  is  merely 
the  public  policy  of  this  State  until  we  know  to  the  contrary, 
and  I  want  to  urge  again  uPon  the  committee  one  proposition, 
and  that  is  that  the  man  who  opposes  this  proposed  contract, 
and  opposes  this  ordinance  at  this  time,  does  not  necessarily 
stand  in  the  way  of  a  City  Beautiful,  does  not  come  here  in  an 
effort  to  assault  or  assail  the  gentlemen  who,  as  representative 
business  men  in  this  community,  have  given  their  time  and  prob- 
ably their  money  to  what  they  believe,  probably  sincerely  and 
honestly,  is  a  good  and  valuable  improvement  to  the  City  of 
Chicago;  and  we  do  state  that  in  view  of  the  facts  presented, 


229 

Tintil  they  are  contraverted,  there  is  no  more  room  to  dispute, 
as  has  been  suggested  here,  that  this  plan  proposed  will  make  a 
City  Beautiful ;  but  so  far  as  the  people  living  in  the  congested 
districts — I  have  lived  on  the  "West  Side  all  of  my  life — I  know 
it  to  be  a  fact  that  if  you  have  an  outer  boulevard  system,  with, 
say,  500  or  600  feet  of  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central — I 
don't  know  mathematically  what  the  engineer  would  compute 
to  be  the  ditference  over  the  viaduct — there  are  very  few  people 
in  the  congested  districts  that  at  the  time  they  can  enioy  it, 
viz:  in  the  evening  when  the  day's  work  is  done,  who  will  ven- 
ture to  go  to  that  portion  of  the  city  and  cross  over  this  large, 
long  viaduct  with  engines  and  smoke  and  soot,  unless  it  is  re- 
m.arkably  well-protected  in  a  police  sense. 

Another  observation,  and  I  am  finished,  and  that  is  this: 
Someone  has  remarked  here  that  litigation  is  dangerous  to  pub- 
lic improvements,  that  the  long  trial  and  expenses  and  the  time 
in  getting  through  the  courts  to  define  matters,  stand  in  the 
way  of  giving  the  people  the  enjoyment  of  privileges  and  ben- 
efits that  they  might  otherwise  have.  Yet  I  want  to  say  that  in 
the  event  you  pass  this  ordinance  at  this  time,  and  no  provision 
is  made  for  electrification  of  the  Illinois  Central  terminals  in 
the  City  of  Chicago, — that  the  Council  under  its  police  power 
can  force  electrification,  when  you  do  attempt  in  the  name  of 
the  city  to  force  them  to  electrify,  that  you  will  find  the  Illinois 
Central  will  contest  every  inch  of  the  order  to  every  court  in 
the  land  to  determine  exactly  your  authority,  your  police  power, 
and  every  technical  as  well  as  substantive  objection  that  can  be 
made,  will  be  used  by  the  Illinois  Central.  Therefore,  I  urge 
upon  you  here  and  now,  in  the  contemplation  of  a  City  Beauti- 
ful, to  insist  upon  the  surrender  of  what  ultimately  they  may 
use  in  the  way  of  objection  and  litigation.  The  moral  proposi- 
tion, I  think,  is  as  large  as  any,  and  that  is  that  the  Illinois 
Central  is  not  in  exactly  the  best  position  to  come  before  the 
City  Council  at  this  time  in  evasion  of  the  law  passed  by  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois  granting  to  the  Park  Board 
merely  the  right  of  condemnation  so  far  as  sui  generis  prop- 
erty owners  and  unknown  property  owners  were  concerned.  I 
do  believe  that  the  power  that  prevented  the  committee  from 
getting  from  the  Legislature  the  right  of  condemnation  in  that 
statute  for  the  Park  Board  so  far  as  the  Illinois  Central  was 
concerned,  I  think  that  power  was  a  corrupt  power  and  was 
used  directly  against  the  people.  Some  may  argue  that  the 
moral  question  is  of  little  consequence.  I  might  remind  some 
of  you  gentlemen  that  the  people  of  this  State  have  in  the  past 
spent  thousands  and  thousands  of  dollars  merely  fighting  on 
moral  lines,  and  as  was  referred  to,  on  another  occasion,  the 
Mayor  of  this  city  spent  considerable  time,  and  effectively  too,  and 


230 

established  himself  as  a  political  factor,  winning  the  confidence 
of  the  people  of  this  State,  because  he  refused  to  compromise 
until  certain  propositions  were  clearly  established;  in  other 
words,  until  the  integrity  of  this  community  as  a  free  com- 
munity to  act  as  a  free  agent,  was  established,  and  the  Al'en 
law  was  stricken  from  the  statute  books  of  this  State.  The 
proposition  of  jackpotism,  so-called,  is  another  issue  upon  which 
the  people  of  tliis  State  have  spent  a  large  amount  of  money, 
and  are  going  to  spend  much  more  money;  and  as  I  statel  the 
other  day,  I  believe  a  City  Beautiful  that  is  purely  a  super- 
ficial City  Beautiful,  that  is  based  upon  the  sacrifice  of  the 
people  in  their  willingness  to  acquiesce  in  any  concession,  is  on 
its  face  corruption  and  is  a  step  backwards,  a  step  so  far  back- 
wards, that  men  in  this  council,  T  am  perfectly  satisfie<l,  are  not 
willing  to  make  that  step  at  this  time. 

I  thank  you,  gentlemen,  for  your  consideration. 

Mr.  Butler:  I  did  not  mean  to  say  another  word,  but  I 
want  Mr.  Comerford  to  understand  that  I  am  not  angry,  ana 
I  want  to  say  again  to  these  gentlemen  that  in  endeavoring  to 
get  this  bill  at  Springfield,  it  was  the  Merchant's  Club  of  Chi- 
cago. The  Merchant's  Club  has  now  become  a  part  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club.  The  Merchant's  Club  of  Chicago  had  a  pretty 
good  name.  It  had  a  good  name  in  this  council,  it  had  a  good 
name  at  Springfield,  and  I  am  sure  no  man  in  this  city  will 
question  their  efforts  or  their  means  of  securing  a  bill.  I  want 
to  say  that  the  Illinois  Central  had  nothing  to  do  with  securing 
this  bill,  and  I  want  to  say  aa'ain  that  after  securing  this  bill 
which,  as  Mr.  Lee  says,  he  calls  it  record  time  to  get  through, 
that  after  that  we  were  for  four  years  trying  to  get  the  Illinois 
Central  to  trade  on  it,  under  this  bill.  It  was  only  when  the 
present  president,  Mr.  Markham,  came  to  this  city  that  we 
found  a  man  with  whom  we  could  trade.  Now,  what  is  the  use  of 
keeping  on  here  making  charges  and  counter  charires'?  T  want 
to  say  another  thing,  that  it  seems  to  me  that  if  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral is  shown  to  own  the  fee  to  the  shore  line,  that  there  is  no 
question  then  about  their  riparian  rights,  because  riparian 
rights  go  with  the  shore  line  or  o^\^lership, 

I  want  to  say  another  thing,  that  isn't  it  well  to  leave  out 
these  legal  entanglements,  these  confusing  statements  of  the 
lawyers  here,  and  submit  them  to  the  court,  because  this  ques- 
tion, this  trade,  has  to  be  approved  by  a  mar'ority  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  and  into  that  court  can  come  any  taxpaver  and  protest 
and  he  w^ill  be  heard,  and  it  seems  to  me  a  court  is  a  pretty  good 
place  to  decide  these  legal  questions.  We  here  cannot  decide 
them. 

I  beg  your  pardon,  gentlemen,  I  did  not  mean  to  say  any- 
thing, but  I  had  to. 


231 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  I  rise,  gentlemen,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
senting a  few  additional  matters  that  have  come  to  our  notice 
since  the  last  hearing,  and  I  do  not  want  to  trespass  on  your 
time.  At  the  same  time  I  want  to  express  my  appreciation  for 
the  consideration  that  has  been  given  to  this  matter,  and  I  do 
feel  like  saying,  "without  wanting  to  oppose  Mr.  Lee's  views, 
that  I  cannot  share  his  opinion,  that  there  is  not  any  attempt  at 
any  time  to  rush  this  matter  through  the  committee.  In  fact, 
the  moment  the  suggestion  was  made  that  the  consideration  of 
this  matter  be  postponed,  and  an  opportunity  be  given  for  men 
to  express  their  views  and  bring  in  all  the  evidence,  etc.,  there 
seemed  to  be  a  readiness  on  the  part  of  everybody  to  give  it, 
and  those  who  share  my  views  are  really  extremely  thankful  for 
that.  Now,  I  do  not  think  that  personalities  will  help  this  mat- 
ter any,  because  if  we  are  going  to  decide  it,  it  will  eventually 
have  to  be  decided  strictly  on  its  merits,  whatever  may  be  the 
opinion  that  may  be  held  by  anyone  at  the  present  time,  whether 
it  be  a  newspaper  or  individual.  I  am  satisfied  that  if  this  thing 
is  settled  right,  and  I  believe  that  this  committee  will  settle  it 
rightly  in  time,  you  will  receive  the  plaudits  of  the  people.  We 
cannot  always  be  influenced  by  any  settlement  that  has  been 
made  at  the  present  time  or  is  being  made.  Since  the  last  hear- 
ing, my  attention  has  been  called  to  a  case  that  is  now  pending 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Northern 
District  of  Illinois,  Eastern  Division,  entitled:  '^ Samuel  H. 
Bowman  vs.  City  of  Chicago,  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany, and  others."  This  is  a  bill  to  establish  title  to  part  of 
the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way  from  Congress  Street  north  to 
the  river  and  part  of  the  lake  front  park  immediately  west  of 
the  said  right  of  way. 

The  Chaieman  :  Mr.  Rosenthal,  will  you  please  repeat  that 
statement  about  the  case? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  It  reads  as  follows  (reading) :  ''This  is  a 
bill  to  establish  title  to  part  of  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way 
from  Congress  Street  north  to  the  river  and  part  of  the  lake 
front  park  immediately  west  of  the  said  right  of  way." 

Mr.  Redfield:    Is  that  part  of  Grant  Park? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    Yes,  sir,  it  is. 

Mr.  Redfield:    That  case  has  been  pending  how  long? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    I  think,  eight  years. 

Mr.  Redfield  :  I  know  that  four  or  five  lawyers  have  died 
in  the  meantime,  I  will  say,  for  the  benefit  of  this  committee, 
that  your  Corporation  Counsel  is  entirely  familiar  with  this 
case,  and  he  took  entire  charge  of  it  in  the  last  two  years.  He 
is  about  the  only  man  really  conversant  with  the  facts  in  the 
case. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:     I  appreciate  what  you  say,  but  I  think 


232 

that  the  reason  this  case  is  of  value  at  the  present  time  is  be- 
cause it  has  in  it  the  testimony  under  oath  of  certain  gentle- 
men familiar  with  real  estate  values,  who  seem  to  know  some- 
thing, at  any  rate,  about  the  value  of  property  for  real  estate 
purposes,  and  since  the  opinions  that  have  been  presented  have 
been  assailed  and  sport  made  of  them,  and  we  have  been  told 
that  our  value  of  $17,000,000  has  been  excessive,  and  that  it 
is  only  $4,800,000  and  not  $17,000,000,  let  me  read  you  just  a 
patch  or  two  from  the  evidence. 

Aid.  Long:    Has  that  case  been  decided! 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    No. 

Mr.  Redfield  :  It  probably  will  not  be  for  the  next  twenty 
years.    Aren't  the  values  testified  as  to  land  north? 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :    Yes. 

Mr.  Redeield:    Why  are  you  so  disturbed  about  this  case? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    I  will  go  ahead  and  read  this  case  now: 

IN  THE  CIECUIT  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES. 

NORTHERN    DISTRICT    OF    ILLINOIS. 

EASTERN  DIVISION. 


Samuel  H.  Bowman 

vs. 
CiTT  OF  Chicago. 


In  Equity.     No.  29064. 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Co.  et  al. 


..  ( 


This  is  a  bill  to  establish  title  to  part  of  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way 
from  Congress  Street  north  to  the  river  and  part  of  the  Lake  Front  Park 
immediately  west  of  said  right  of  way. 

Evidence  has  been  introduced  before  Master  in  Chancery  Bishop. 

ABSTRACT. 

Edward  P.  Skene,  a  witness  for  defendants,  testified  as  follows  (begin- 
ning at  page  1474  of  transcript  of  evidence) : 

I  have  been  Land  Commissioner  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany since  1890.  I  know  the  fair,  reasonable  market  value  of  the  land  occu- 
pied by  the  Illinois  Central  as  shown  by  Exhibit  "E"  of  defendant's  answer. 

"Q.  What  do  you  say  is  the  fair,  reasonable  market  value  of  the  land 
as  shown  by  Exhibit  E  of  defendant's  answer,  per  acre,  as  the  right  of  way 
of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  land  of  the  South  Park  Com- 
mission, included  within  the  lines  of  said  alleged  survey  as  they  appear  on 
Exhibit  E  of  said  answer?" 

Mr.  Butler:  Now,  bear  in  mind  before  getting  to  the 
answer,  that  the  witness  has  asked  not  only  about  the  land 
which  is  strictly  railroad  land,  but  the  land  immediately  adja- 
cent thereto,  which  may  be  used  for  the  purposes  of  a  railroad 
and  is  now  part  of  the  public  domain.  "About  $1,600,000  per 
acre,  on  an  average." 

$1,600,000  per  acre,  a  calculation  of  that  is  $36.73  a  square 
foot. 


233 

Aid.  Long  :  I  would  like  to  identify  that  land.  Is  that  the 
land  in  the  present  Grant  Park? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Between  Congress  Street,  and  from  Con- 
gress Street  north  to  the  river. 

Aid.  Long:    Including  the  right  of  way  to  Grant  Park? 

Mr.  EosENTHAj.:  Part  of  Grant  Park.  Now,  I  will  read  the 
cross-examination  by  Judge  A.  N.  Waterman  (reading) : 

CROSS-EXAMINATION. 

By  Judge  A.  N.  Waterman. 
Page  1483. 

"Q.     Now  you  have  made  a  statement  as  to  what  you  consider  the  value 
of  the  land,  the  value  per  acre  of  the  land  within  the  limits  of  the  Talcott 
Survey  which  is  claimed  by  the  Illinois  Central,  I  think." 
"A.     Yes,  sir." 

"Q.  I  think  your  estimate  was  one  million,  six  hundred  thousand 
dollars?" 

"A.     One  million  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  on  the  average." 
"Q.    What  do  you  take  into  consideration  in  arriving  at  that  estimate?" 
"A.     I  take  into  consideration  what  land  has  sold  for  on  Michigan  Ave- 
nue, and  what  it  has  been  leased  for,  and  then  I  give  a  fair  increase  in  that 
as  to  what  the  land  is  worth  further  east,  that  the  railroad  is  on  today." 

Page  1491: 

"Q.  Now  in  giving  this  estimate  of  one  million,  six  hundred  thousand 
dollars  per  acre  for  the  land,  for  what  purpose  do  you  make  that  estimate, 
for  hotels  or  for  private  residences,  or  for  what?" 

"A.     For  railroad  purposes." 

"Q.  Well,  you  say  for  railroad  purposes,  do  you  mean  for  railroad  pur- 
poses generally,  or  have  you  any  particular  railroad  in  mind?" 

"A.    For  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad." 

Page  1491: 

"Q.  In  making  this  estimate  of  one  million,  six  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars per  acre,  do  you  take  into  consideration  anything  but  the  bare  land?" 

"A.     Nothing  but  the  bare  land." 

Frank,  B.  Harriman,  a  witness  for  defendant: 
"I  am  general  manager  of  the  Illinois  Central." 

Page  1602: 

"Q.  Do  you  know  approximately  the  value  of  this  terminal  at  Randolph 
Street?" 

"A.     No,  I  have  no  information." 

"Q.     What  would   it   run   into?" 

"A.  Well,  it  would  run  into  quite  a  number  of  millions;  a  small  part  of 
it  was  leased  to  the  Wisconsin  Central  upon  a  valuation  of  $1,800,000.00" 

"Q.     Was  that  valuation  for  the  purpose  of  selling?" 

"A.     No,  that  was  a  valuation  on  which  the  rental  was  based." 

Albert  H.  Wetten,  a  witness  for  defendant,  testified  he  was  President  of 
the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board  and  was  familiar  with  values  in  the  location 
in  question. 

He  gave  $30.00  per  square  foot  as  the  value  of  that  part  of  the  right  of 
way  of  the  Illinois  Central  which  was  involved  in  the  suit.    He  stated  this 
value  was  based  on  the  value  of  property  in  the  vicinity.     (P.  1930.) 
Page  1964:  "^ 

"Q.  A  strip  such  as  that  equipped  for  railroad  purposes,  with  tracks 
thereon  and  other  necessary  facilities  for  railroad  purposes,  would  be  worth 
more  than  just  the  market  value  of  naked  property?" 

"A.     I  should  say  many  times  more." 


234 

Mr.  Kosenthal:  Now,  there  is  another  case,  that  of  the 
Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  Eailroad  Company  against 
the  Chicago  &  Western  Indiana  Railroad  Company,  in  the  100th 
Illinois,  page  21.  This  case  has  heen  referred  to  a  great  many 
times: 

L.  S.  &  M.  S.  BY.  CO.  ET  AL.  V.  C.  &  W.  I.  R.  B.  CO.,  100  ILL.  21. 

This  was  a  petition  to  condemn  a  strip  of  land  ninning 
across  the  tracks  of  defendant  company.  On  the  question  of 
damages  the  court  said: 

"While  some  witnesses  were  permitted  to  state  that  the  two  blocks  has 
a  special  adaptability  to  railroad  use,  it  appears  that  no  one  was  permitted 
to  make  any  estimate  as  to  its  value  with  regard  to  such  use.  The  ordinary 
rule  as  to  stating  the  market  value  would  not  seem  to  apply  here.  In  its 
situation  the  land  was  not  available  for  use  for  general  and  ordinary  pur- 
poses. It  could  not  be  said  to  have  any  market  value  as  such  property  that 
it  was.  It  was  devoted  to  a  special  use,  and  the  most  valuable  use  to  which 
it  could  be  applied,  as  shown  by  the  evidence,  was  that  special  use  of  mak- 
ing railroad  transfers;  and  estimates  of  its  value  with  reference  to  such  use, 
by  those  competent  to  speak  in  that  regard,  should  have  been  received.  See 
I.  and  W.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Von  Horn,  18  111.  258. 

As  expressed  by  Welles,  J.,  in  Beckett  v.  The  Midland  Railway  Co.,  R.  3 
C.  P.  82:  'The  property  is  to  be  taken  in  statu  quo,  and  to  be  considered 
with  reference  to  the  use  to  which  any  owner  might  put  it  in  its  then  con- 
dition.' " 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  I  think  it  is  a  complete  answer  to  the 
argument  that  was  made  here,  that  in  estimating  the  value,  we 
have  only  got  to  consider  this  land  as  typical  to  its  ordinary 
use,  and  not  to  the  best  use  to  which  it  might  be  put.  But  there 
is  another  criterion,  Mr.  Chairman,  which,  has  been  mentioned 
here  several  times,  and  that  is  the  leases  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company.  I  don't  know,  Mr.  Chairman,  whether  any- 
one has  produced  those  leases.    Might  I  ask  the  question? 

The  Chairman:  There  has  been  nothing  said  about  the 
leases,  Mr.  Rosenthal,  at  all.  There  has  been  nothing  presented 
to  the  committee  about  the  value  of  leases,  or  about  any  leases 
that  might  exist. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  I  want  to  read  the  committee  a  letter  that 
has  been  sent,  and  a  copy  of  which  was  handed  to  me  by  Mr. 
Alex.  J.  W.  Copelin,  under  date  of  January  31,  1912.  It  is 
as  follows: 

"The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  placed  in  1850  or  1854,  at  a  very  great 
expense,  a  break-water  pier  from  Park  Row  south  to  about  Fiftieth  Street, 
for  the  protection  of  their  road  bed,  and  have  possibly  expended  large  sums 
of  money  to  keep  the  break-water  in  repair.  At  the  present  time  a  large 
proportion  of  the  piles  are  beyond  repair,  so  that  the  railroad  company  will. 
In  the  near  future,  be  compelled  to  put  in  repair  the  break-water  from 
Twelfth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street.  The  cost  of  this  work  will  nearly  equal 
the  value  of  the  present  depot  site.  If  the  South  Park  Commissioners  want 
a  driveway  and  a  park  east  of  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way  extended, 
the  public  will  have  to  pay  the  entire  cost  of  protecting  the  driveway,  and  it 
is  well  known  that  the  cost  of  protecting  the  shore  has  been  one  of  the 


235 

greatest  items  of  expense  to  the  people.  Still,  the  shore  protection  is  only 
about  three  miles,  the  protection  for  the  new  driveway  will  nearly  equal 
six  miles.  The  wall  or  break-water  near  the  shore  line  when  built  was  in 
water  from  3  to  6  feet  deep.  The  new  break-water  will  be  in  water 
about  from  12  to  15  feet  deep,  making  the  cost  very  much  greater.  This,  I 
think,  is  the  greatest  objection  to  the  exchange.  If  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  should  be  compelled  to  pay  this  expense  for  protection,  the  propo- 
sition would  be  more  nearly  equitable. 

Yours  truly, 

Alexander  J.  W.  Copelin." 

Mr.  Rosenthal  r  Now,  I  do  not  know  whether  those  of  you 
who  saw  the  News  of  last  Wednesday  evening,  hapj^ened  to  see 
a  memorandum  of  the  discussion  of  Mr.  L.  C.  Fritch  of  the 
Great  Western  Eailroad,  Lloyd  C.  Fritch,  Chief  Engineer  of 
the  Great  Western  Railroad,  who  made  an  address  before  the 
members  of  the  Electrical  Club  at  noon  the  other  day.  I  un- 
derstand that  Mr.  Fritch  is  a  man  of  very  high  rank,  and  one 
of  the  gentlemen  who  is  in  this  room  is  a  member  of  the  Chi- 
cago Great  Western  Board,  and  I  believe  every  statement  that 
was  made,  he  will  agree  with  me  that  Mr.  Fritch 's  opinions 
have  value,  and  that  he  has  been  investigating  tliis  particular 
subject. 

I  called  up  Mr.  Fritch  and  asked  him  whether  he  was  ac- 
curately quoted,  and  he  told  me  that  he  was,  and  left  with  me 
also  a  memorandum.  He  sent  me  this  morning  the  memoran- 
dum. I  asked  him  whether  I  might  have  them.  He  spoke  about 
the  question  of  the  terminal  facilities  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  and 
the  trouble  is  this  problem  is  not  studied  as  an  independent 
problem,  but  must  be  considered  in  connection  with  a  great 
many  other  matters  that  we  have,  and  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant questions  that  we  have  at  the  present  time  is  whether  or 
not,  aside  from  all  other  considerations,  it  has  the  right  to 
build  large  railroad  rights  in  the  center  of  the  city.  May  I  be 
permitted,  Mr.  Chairman,  just  to  read  a  few  sentences  from 
this  article. 

The  Chairman:    Yes. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  (reading) : 


236 
{Extract  from  The  Chicago  Daily  News,  Wednesday,  January  31,  1912.) 

SEES    MILLIONS    SAVED    IN    BAIL    TERMINAL    PLAN. 


L.  C.  Fritch  of  Great  Western  Road  Urges  Scheme  Before 
The  Electric  Club. 


WOULD   FREE   MUCH   LAND. 


Group  Passenger  and  Freight  Stations  to  Do  Away  with  Many 
Yards;  Make  Electrification  Easy. 


CHICAGO   BAILKOADS    AND   THEIR   TERMINALS. 


What  Terminal  Systems  Need. 

(As  defined  by  L.  C.  Fritch) 

General  revision  to  cost  millions. 
Assured  uniform  system  of  electrification. 

Concentration  of  all  passenger  terminals  in  a  group  of  five  stations  at 
Twelfth  Street. 

Sub-terminal  system  for  freight  traffic. 

Facts  About  Rail  Terminals. 

At  the  present  rate  the  railroads  will  own  the  whole  business  district 
in  twenty-five  years. 

Freight  yards  now  occupy  half  of  this  district. 

Cars  are  now  standing  on  land  valued  at  $20,000  for  the  space  occupied 
by  one  car. 

Sub-terminal  system  would  take  two-thirds  of  the  interchange  traffic 
outside  the  congested  district. 


Land  down  town  worth  millions  of  dollars  could  be  saved  to  Chicago's 
business  interests  and  the  electrification  of  all  roads  made  easily  possible, 
according  to  plans  advocated  by  Louis  C.  Fritch,  Chief  Engineer  of  the 
Chicago  Great  Western  Railroad,  who  spoke  before  members  of  the  Electric 
Club  at  noon  today.  Millions  would  be  spent  on  changes  in  Chicago's  rail- 
way terminal  systems,  according  to  Mr.  Fritch,  but  the  result  would  be 
worth  more  than  the  expenditure. 

"Extensive  changes  in  terminal  facilities  of  railroads  running  into  Chi- 
cago must  precede  the  electrification  movement,"  said  Mr.  Fritch.  "At  pres- 
ent the  railroads  feel  the  situation  is  too  shaky  to  permit  the  large  expendi- 
ture of  money  in  electrifying,  with  the  possibility  of  future  revision  of  the 
terminal  system  and  the  consequent  sacrifice  of  time  and  money." 

Mr.  Fritch  stated  in  emphatic  words  the  exact  position  of  the  railroads 
in  regard  to  the  suggested  improvement  and  declared  that  terminal  revi- 
sion is  of  more  importance  to  Chicago  than  electrification. 

CHANGE   IN   SYSTEM  FIRST. 

"We  have  a  large,  scattered,  untidy  and  uneconomical  system,"  he  de- 
clared. "The  change  must  come  and  the  sooner  the  better.  This  is  a  ques- 
tion that  must  be  met  before  electrification  is  considered.  Suppose  the  rail- 
roads invested  heavily  in  electrical  equipment  and  then  were  required  to 
change  their  whole  terminal  systems.  You  can  see  what  a  costly  error  that 
would  be." 

Here  are  the  terminal  improvements  suggested  by  Mr.  Fritch: 

For  passenger  terminals — Substitute  for  the"  present  system  a  group  of 
stations,  say,  at  Twelfth  Street.  Five  stations  should  be  sufficient  to 
accommodate  all  the  traffic  coming  into  Chicago  on  all  the  roads. 

For  freight  traffic — Discard  the  present  highly  wasteful  system  whereby 
half  of  the  business  district  of  Chicago   is  occupied  by   freight  yards  of 


2;i7 

railroads.  Establish  either  one  union  station,  where  all  the  freight  will  be 
handled,  or,  better,  institute  a  system  of  sub-stations  in  various  parts  of 
the  city.  Some  of  these  stations  would  be  for  the  use  of  more  than  one 
road — in  fact,  wherever  practicable. 

GBOUP   SYSTEM    MOST   ECONOMICAL. 

"I  suggest  the  group  system  for  passenger  terminals  as  the  most  con- 
venient and  most  economical  system,"  continued  Mr.  Fritch.  "Five  sta- 
tions would  handle  all  the  traffic  with  ease.  The  stations  would  be  in  close 
proximity  to  each  other  so  that  interchange  would  be  an  easy  affair. 

"Our  present  method  of  handling  freight  in  Chicago  is  wasteful  in  the 
extreme.  In  the  interchange  from  one  road  to  another  approximately  10,000 
cars  are  hauled  into  the  city  and  out  again  every  day.  Half  of  our  business 
district  is  occupied  by  railroad  freight  yards.  There  are  freight  cars  now 
standing  on  property  which  is  valued  at  $20,000,  for  just  the  space  occupied 
by  one  car.  By  instituting  the  sub-station  system  it  would  make  it  unneces- 
sary to  bring  these  cars  into  such  valuable  territory. 

"I  estimate  that  we  could  occupy  land  one  twentieth  of  the  value  of 
land  now  occupied  in  this  way  and  not  lose  any  facility  in  making  inter- 
changes of  freight  from  one  road  to  another. 

"If  the  railroads  continued  increasing  their  holdings  in  the  shape  of 
freight  yards  for  the  next  twenty-five  years  the  way  they  have  in  the  past 
twenty-five,  they  would  own  the  entire  business  district  of  Chicago." 

"With  our  passenger  terminals  grouped  at  one  spot,  and  our  freight 
interchanges  to  the  extent  of  10,000  cars  a  day  reduced  to  one-third  of  that 
number  in  the  congested  district  by  instituting  the  sub-station  system,  we 
can  begin  to  consider  the  question  of  electrification,"  continued  Mr.  Fritch. 
"Here  comes  a  question  which  must  be  definitely  and  fully  decided  by  the 
electric  people, 

UNIFORM   SYSTEM   NECESSAEY. 

"Before  the  railroads  of  Chicago  can  consider  electrifying  at  their  ter- 
minal points,  they  will  have  to  be  assured  of  a  uniform  system  of  electrifica- 
tion. By  this  I  mean  that  all  of  the  roads  must  be  equipped  in  the  same 
way — with  the  same  style  of  equipment.  Our  traffic  interchange  demands 
this.  The  engines  of  one  road  must  run  into  the  stations  of  the  other  roads 
to  make  these  interchanges.  The  only  way  this  can  be  done  is  through 
uniformity  of  equipment.  This  equipment  is  furnished  by  the  electrical 
companies. 

"The  electrical  companies  must  get  together  instead  of  fighting  among 
themselves,  and  decide  on  the  best  system.  Then  all  of  the  railroads  must 
use  this  system.  This  is  the  only  condition  under  which  electrification  is 
possible.  Westinghouse  and  the  General  Electric  Companies  are  fighting. 
They  must  quit  fighting  and  work  together  to  do  business  with  the  railroads 
running  into  Chicago." 

Mr.  Eosenthal:  Now,  my  attention  was  called  by  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners  to  this  proposition,  that 
IS  what  he  mentioned  out  here  the  other  day,  I  said  I  did  not 
know  that  the  South  Park  Commissioners  were  right  after  all 
in  operating  simply  under  the  Act  of  1907,  and  I  inquired 
whether  any  investigation  had  been  made,  to  see  whether  there 
were  any  other  Acts  under  which  they  could  proceed,  and  under 
which  they  could  condemn  these  riparian  rights.  I  stated  at 
that  time  I  had  not  had  time  personally  to  investigate  it.  In 
a  letter  I  received  from  that  member  this  morning,  he  called 
my  attention  to  the  Act  of  June  15,  1905,  an  Act  to  enable  park 


2;^s 

commissioners  having  control  of  any  park,  to  enlarge  the  same 
from  time  to  time,  and  granting  submerged  land  for  purposes 
of  such  enlargement,  and  to  defray  the  cost  thereof,  and  to 
make  a  connecting  boulevard.  In  Section  2  of  that  Act  it  pro- 
vides as  follows: 

"The  riparian  rights  of  the  owner  of  land  along  the  lake  shore  adjoin- 
ing such  submerged  land,  and  such  land  along  said  shore,  as  the  said  Board 
shall  consider  necessary  and  desirable,  the  said  Board  of  Commissioners 
may  acquire  the  contracts,  with  or  without  deeds  from  any  such  owner, 
and  in  case " 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Now,  this  is  the  second  part  which  was 
cut  out  of  the  Illinois  Central  Act  (reading) : 

"And  in  case  of  inability  to  agree  with  any  such  owner,  proceedings  may 
be  had  to  condemn  such  rights  to  such  land  according  to  the  provisions  of 
Article  9  of  an  Act,  etc." 

Mr.  Redfield  :    Will  you  please  read  the  first  section  again. 
Mr.  Rosenthal:    You  mean  the  title  of  it? 
Mr.  Redfield:     The  title  to  the  first  section. 
Mr.  Rosenthal:     It  is  as  follows: 

"An  Act  to  enable  the  park  commissioners  having  control  of  any  park 
bordering  upon  public  waters  in  this  State,  to  enlarge  the  same  from  time 
to  time,  and  granting  submerged  lands  for  the  purposes  of  such  enlargement, 
and  to  defray  the  cost  thereof." 

Mr.  Redfield:  The  title  of  that  Act  does  not  refer  to  the 
riparian  rights. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Doesn't  that  come  within  the  title?  I 
will  read  it  again  (reading). 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  I  don't  know  whether  you  have  given  an 
opinion  on  that.    If  you  have  we  ought  to  know  it. 

Mr.  Redfield:  Mr.  Frank  Hamlin,  Attorney  for  the  Park 
Board,  stated  within  forty-eight  hours  that  there  was  no  such 
power,  that  he  had  assumed  that  there  was,  and  he  had  looked 
it  up,  and  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  absolutely 
was  no  power  in  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  condemn  the 
riparian  rights. 

,   Mr,  Rosenthal:    Have  you  given  an  opinion  to  that  effect? 

Mr.  Redfield  :    I  could  not  tell  you  whether  I  had  or  not. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  Have  you  made  a  legal  investigation  and 
given  an  opinion? 

Mr.  Redfield  :    I  cannot  tell  you. 

Mr.  Butler:  I  can  say  that  the  Merchants'  Club  had  an 
opinion. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    From  whom? 

Mr.  Butler:    A  member  and  an  attorney. 

Mr.  Redfield:  Do  you  wish  this  committee  to  understand 
that  we  now  have  the  right  to  condemn  the  riparian  rights? 


2.?9 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  I  tliink  the  statement  I  made  will  hear 
out  the  position  I  have  taken.  I  will  state  it  again.  I  said  here 
that  we  had  not  been  advised  whether  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners had  power  to  proceed  under  any  other  Act,  nor 
whether  any  efforts  had  been  made  to  proceed  under  any  other 
Act,  and  I  also  stated  the  fact  that  the  Commissioner  of  Lin- 
coln Park  called  my  attention  this  morning'  to  these  Acts,  to 
which  I  now  want  to  call  the  attention  of  the  committee.  I 
have  not  given  a  legal  opinion  on  it,  and  I  have  not  examined 
the  Acts  closely  enough  to  know  it,  and  it  seems  also,  Mr.  Red- 
field,  that  you  have  not,  and  that  is  an  unfortunate  position  for 
the  public  to  be  in. 

Mr.  Redfield:    I  do  not  agree  with  you,  Mr.  Rosenthal. 

The  Chairman  :  May  I  ask  you  to  give  that  title  again. 
It  is  very  short. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    It  is  as  follows  (reading) : 

"An  Act  to  enable  park  commissioners  having  control  of  any  park  bor- 
dering upon  public  waters  in  this  State,  to  enlarge  the  same  from  time  to 
time,  and  granting  submerged  lands  for  purposes  of  such  enlargement,  and 
to  defray  the  cost  thereof." 

This  Act  speaks  of  boulevards  and  driveways.  Then  there 
is  an  amendment  to  this  Act,  approved  May  14,  1903,  which 
reads : 

"The  riparian  rights  of  the  owners  of  land  along  the  shore  adjoining 
such  submerged  lands,  and  such  land  along  the  shore  as  to  said  Board  shall 
seem  necessary  and  desirable,  the  said  Board  of  Commissioners  may  acquire 
by  contract  with  or  without  deed  from  any  such  owner,  and  in  case  of  ina- 
bility to  agree  with  any  such  owners,  proceedings  may  be  had  to  condemn 
such  rights  to  such  lands,  according  to  the  provisions  of  Article  9  of  the 
Act,  etc." 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Then  there  is  the  Act  of  May  14,  1903, 
an  Act  to  provide  for  the  enlargement  and  extension  of  parks, 
which  provides  that  in  all  cases  where  a  public  park  wnthin 
specified  boundaries  fronting  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  lies  in 
two  towns,  and  where  the  commissioners  of  such  parks  have 
been  named  in  the  Act,  etc.,  that  proceedings  may  be  had,  etc. 

Now,  I  have  no  means  of  knowing  whether  any  such  in- 
vestigation has  been  made,  or  what  investigation  has  been 
made;  whether  any  attempt  has  been  made  to  proceed  under 
any  of  these  park  Acts;  but  what  I  do  wish  to  say  is  that,  if 
that  attempt  has  been  made,  we  might  have  had  a  different 
sort  of  a  contract  here;  and  if  we  cannot  get  by  bargain  the 
sort  of  contract  that  we  want,  my  idea  as  the  only  way  to  pro- 
ceed is  to  condemn;  and  the  best  answer  that  has  been  given 
here  to  the  question  of  the  Field  Museum,  which  has  been  used 
here  for  the  purposes  of  overshadowing  this  whole  proposition, 
is  whether  the  people  can  afford  to  pay  the  price ;  and  I  want  to 


240 

say  that  we  can  discuss  this  matter  a  good  many  times,  a  good 
many  of  us  are  opposed  to  this,  and  we  have  come  to  the  delib- 
erate conclusion,  and  we  will  adhere  to  that  conclusion,  after 
having  considered  it  again  for  several  days,  that  we  cannot 
afford  to  pay  that  price ;  not  only  on  moral  grounds,  and  those 
to  me  alone  will  be  sufficient,  but  on  both  legal  and  just  grounds 
to  the  people.  We  cannot  justify  this  thing.  We  cannot  justify 
the  placing  of  the  Field  Museum  in  the  central  part  of  Chicago 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  Illinois  Central  this  great  rail- 
road 3^ard,  which  will  constitute  in  the  course  of  time  a  greater 
nuisance  than  it  is  today. 

Mr.  Oliver:    When  were  Mr.  Wetten's  valuations  made? 

Mr.  Rosenthal,:  I  think  they  were  made  two  years  ago. 
To-day  they  will  probably  be  higher. 

Mr.  Oliver:  I  think  Mr.  Rosenthal  has  made  a  very  un- 
fair comparison  when  he  attempts  to  take  a  valuation  made  by 
a  member  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board,  whose  ability  to 
judge  we  all  believe  in.  He  has  attempted  to  state  that  against 
the  valuation  of  the  Board  with  the  reflection  on  the  Board's 
valuation.  It  is  just  about  as  fair  for  you  to  compare  the  value 
at  Congress  Street,  gentlemen,  with  the  average  value  that  the 
Real  Estate  Board  puts  on  it,  as  it  is  to  compare  a  value  at 
Randolph  and  State  Streets  with  a  proposed  value  over  at  Chi- 
cago Avenue  and  State  Street;  just  about.  As  to  railroad 
values  which  have  been  harped  on  so  much  before  this  committee, 
I  just  want  to  say  I  would  like  very  much  to  have  Mr.  Rosen- 
thal throw  a  little  light  on  what  railroad  values  are.  I  had  the 
personal  experience  of  testifying  for  the  people  in  behalf  of  the 
Sanitary  District  in  a  condemnation  case,  of  a  strip  of  land  for 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad's  right  of  way,  and  I  remember  at 
the  time  the  railroad  attorneys  harped  on  the  railroad  values, 
and  the  values  for  the  railroad,  insisting  on  a  value  of  $75  a 
square  foot  or  thereabout.  The  jury  put  a  value  on  it  of  $9  a 
square  foot,  which  the  real  estate  experts  for  the  city  put  on  it, 
and  that  is  the  amount  the  Sanitary  District  paid  to  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  In  placing  a  valuation,  a  number  of  cer- 
tificates have  been  submitted  to  this  board  up  to  this  time,  but 
I  have  not  heard  but  one  man's  name  mentioned  with  reference 
to  values.  I  want  to  say  in  connection  with  the  Chicago  Real 
Estate  Board  that  the  names  signed  to  this  certificate,  at  least 
most  of  them,  are  some  of  the  most  prominent  real  estate  men 
in  Chicago.  I  think  there  are  six  of  them.  At  the  time  this 
valuation  was  made  by  these  six  members,  there  were  some 
fifteen  other  members  of  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board  who 
handled  down  town  and  South  Side  property,  and  among  them 
Mr.  Wetten,  if  you  please,  who  discussed  these  values  and  fig- 


241 

ured  tliem  out,  and  in  that  connection  I  want  to  say  also  that  sub- 
sequent to  the  valuations  being  made  by  this  committee,  that  it 
was  submitted  to  a  meeting  of  the  board  and  approved  by  them 
by  a  unanimous  vote,  with  the  exception,  I  think,  of  one  vote. 
For  instance,  at  Michigan  Avenue  and  Twelfth  Street  the  value 
was  figured  at  $6,000  per  front  foot,  or  $150,000  for  25  feet 
front.  The  property  which  was  two  years  ago  valued  at 
$14,500,000  was  now  considered  worth  $16,000,000,  so  that  you 
can  see  by  that  comparison  that  they  had  some  idea  of  the 
values  of  real  property  in  that  vicinity. 

Now  then,  we  are  attempting  to  compare  a  piece  of  land 
under  water,  east  of  the  railroad,  not  adjacent  to  Michigan 
Avenue,  but  away  east  of  Michigan  Avenue  not  available  for 
the  same  high-class  purposes,  with  property  at  Congress  Street, 
as  if  it  were  used  for  commercial  purposes.  They  started  an 
investigation  of  the  property,  beginning  at  Twelfth  Street,  in 
detail,  before  they  arrived  at  the  average  value  in  the  few  miles, 
and  it  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this  committee  which  first 
made  separate  valuations,  and  in  that  connection  I  can  say  to 
you  that  when  they  made  the  total  valuation  that  the  range  of 
diiference  between  the  high  and  low  values  of  this  entire  com- 
mittee was  less  than  $100,000.  Some  of  the  values  were  as  high 
as  $50  per  square  foot,  but  there  is  altogether  a  different  class 
of  property  involved  in  the  right  of  way  in  this  proceeding,  by 
comparison  with  the  property  adjacent  to  Michigan  Avenue  on 
Congress  Street,  or  even  at  Michigan  Avenue  and  Twelfth 
Street. 

The  question  then  comes  up,  what  is  the  test  of  values? 
In  a  trial  for  the  purpose  of  setting  a  value  upon  a  piece  of 
real  estate,  in  my  judgment,  from  my  experience  as  a  real  es- 
tate man,  and  of  those  men  who  were  then  associated  with  me 
in  this  report,  the  value  is  based  in  its  present  ownership,  for 
its  highest  and  best  use;  that  is,  make  railroad  values  on  a 
piece  of  land,  if  you  can  make  it  railroad  land;  and  the  land 
that  you  have  east  of  this  right  way,  under  water,  without  any 
tracks,  without  any  connection  with  the  system,  cannot  possibly 
have  a  railroad  value,  except  as  a  speculative  proposition,  and 
I  do  not  believe  any  court  in  the  land  will  allow  a  man  to  tes- 
tify as  to  the  speculative  value  of  a  piece  of  land. 

Again,  with  reference  to  railroad  value  of  a  piece  of  land, 
the  railroad  value  attaches  to  that  land  as  a  part  of  the  svstem ; 
just  the  same  as  if  you  take  an  ordinary  25-foot  lot,  25  by  100 
feet.  It  contains  2,500  square  feet.  Assuming  for  arsrument's 
sake  that  it  is  worth  $300  a  foot,  which  would  make  $7,500  for 
the  lot,  or  2,500  square  feet  at  $3.00  a  square  foot,  and  every 
square  foot  of  that  land  is  worth  three  dollars,  whether  in  the 
front  or  in  the  rear,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  it  is  a  single 


242 

entity,  and  has  its  value  by  reason  of  its  relationship  to  the 

whole  lot.  1    li?     r. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  you  were  to  segregate  the  rear  halt  o± 
the  lot  and  treat  it  independently  of  the  front  of  the  lot,  it  nat- 
urally would  have  a  different  value,  and  probably  a  greater 
lesser  value;  and  so  it  is  wherever  a  piece  of  railroad  land  is 
segregated  from  the  railroad,  and  from  railroad  uses,  and  it 
will  have  an  entirely  different  value  than  it  will  as  a  part  of  the 
entire  railroad  system.  I  think  that  has  been  testified  to  and 
been  proven  in  condemnation  cases,  in  a  great  many  cases  in 
this  city. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    May  I  ask  a  question? 

Mr.  Goldstine:    Oh,  certainly. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Supposing  you  had  a  strip  of  land  200  feet 
wide,  extending  for  one  block  east  of  the  llUnois  Central  Rail- 
road Company  right  of  way ;  and  you  found  that  that  land  was 
available  for  use  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  for 
railroad  purposes,  and  you  were  the  owner  of  that  land,  would 
you  sit  down  then  and  say :  'Here,  I  am  not  going  to  put  a  valua- 
tion on  this  for  railroad  purposes,  which  is  many  times  more 
than  the  value  for  ordinary  purposes,  but  I  am  just  going  to 
take  tlie  value  for  ordinary  purposes,  because  I  am  going  to 
have  it  for  buildings,  because  only  the  Illinois  Central  want  it 
for  railroad  purposes.  Of  course  it  would  not  be  used  for  rail- 
road purposes'? 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  Before  I  answer  that  question,  I  will  state 
that  I  had  a  case  in  point. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :    I  don 't  want  the  case. 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  In  that  case,  I  would  personally  try  to  get 
the  railroad  value.  The  value  of  that  land  would  be  for  its  high- 
est and  best  use.  If  it  were  absolutely  railroad  land,  I  could  not 
give  you  the  value,  because  I  don't  know  what  railroad  values 
are;  but  adjoining  a  railroad,  I  would  value  it  as  commercial 
property,  available  for  use  in  connection  with  a  railroad  for 
manufacturing  purposes  and  give  that  value.  Only  a  few  days 
ago  that  very  same  question  arose  in  a  case  tried  by  the  City  of 
Chicago  with  reference  to  the  opening  of  Ninety-second  Street 
and  South  Chicago  Avenue,  between  Ninety-first  and  Ninety- 
third  Streets.  The  plaintiff  in  that  case  attempted  to  prove  a 
railroad  value  somewhere  about  sixty-five  cents  a  square  foot, 
and  the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  twenty-five  cents  a  square 
foot,  on  the  contention  that  it  was  alongside  the  railroad,  and 
was  available  for  factory  purposes  in  connection  with  the  rail- 
road, and  did  not  have  a  terminal  value,  or  railroad  value. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  Let  me  ask  one  question  more.  This  prop- 
erty, which  is  along  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way,  running, 


243 

we  will  say,  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Sixteenth  Street,  has  a  term- 
inal value,  hasn't  it?  -    ■  j  ^^ 
Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :    In  my  opinion  not  until  it  is  used  as  rail- 
road land.    When  you  say' ''terminal  value",  that  is,  as  a  part 
of  the  railroad  terminal,  owned  by  the  railroad  company. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  If  the  railroad  company  wanted  to  use 
this  part  in  connection  with  its  terminal  facilities,  wanted  to 
augment  its  terminal  facilities,  and  it  was  immediately  adjacent 
to  its  right  of  way,  then  it  would  have  a  value  for  terminal  facili- 
ties, would  it  not! 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :  It  may  have  a  value  for  terminal  facilities, 
but  if  I  didn't  know  that  the  railroad  company  wanted  it  for 
terminals,  then  I  would  not  put  a  terminal  value  on  it. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  That  is  exactly  the  point  I  want  to  show^ 
because  that  is  exactly  what  I  want  to  bring  out  to  the  com- 
mittee. 

Mr.  Goldstine:  I  cannot  put  a  terminal  value  on  it  until 
it  is  used  as  a  terminal. 

Mr.  Emerson  :  Supposing  you  had  positive  knowledge  that 
it  was  going  to  be  used  for  railroad  purposes,  would  your  valua- 
tion have  been  different  from  what  it  was  the  other  day? 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  I  could  only  answer  that  by  saying  that  1 
could  not  put  a  valuation  on  it  for  railroad  purposes,  because  I 
don't  know  what  land  is  worth  for  railroad  purposes.  I  don't 
think  any  real  estate  man  knows. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  There  is  no  doubt  in  the  mind  of  anybody 
about  this  property  being  used  for  railroad  purposes.  Your 
value  then  is  valueless  so  far  as  this  committee  is  concerned. 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  On  the  contrary,  we  value  the  land  as  being 
adjacent  to  the  railroad  company,  and  it  would  be  available  for 
what  we  call  factory  purposes,  in  connection  with  the  railroad 
alongside  of  it. 

Aid.  Emerson:  But  the  railroad  has  the  right  of  way,  and 
will  put  more  tracks  there.  We  must  assume  it  is  to  be  used  for 
railroad  purposes,  and  as  such  to  be  valued. 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  They  have  land  adjacent  to  it  on  the  west^ 
which  is  of  the  same  character  and  available  for  railroad  pur- 
poses, and  it  would  be  worth  the  price  at  which  it  can  be  bought 
in  the  market. 

Aid.  Hey:  Wouldn't  it  be  clear  that  it  could  not  be  used 
for  factory  purposes,  being  on  the  east  side  of  the  track  and  not 
having  access  in  any  way  from  the  main  land? 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  Then  it  would  be  worth  as  much  in  my  case 
as  I  stated  the  other  day.  I  said  the  land  on  the  west  side  of 
the  track  was  worth  more  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  it  had  ac- 
cess, whereas  the  land  on  the  east  side  of  the  railroad  had  not 
access. 


244 

Aid.  Hey  :  Then  it  would  be  clear  to  you  tliat  it  could  not 
be  used  for  any  other  purpose,  except  for  railroad  purposes? 

Mr.  Goldstine:  That  would  be  restricted,  and  you  would 
have  to  wait  until  the  railroad  company  would  want  it  for  rail- 
road use,  and  until  that  time,  if  it  were  available  for  nothing  else, 
it  would  be  absolutely  unproductive  and  be  increasing  in  its  cost 
and  carrying  charges  all  the  time. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  Wouldn't  you  assume,  if  the  Illinois  Central 
had  use  for  the  land,  that  they  would  use  it  for  railroad  pur- 
poses? 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  Yes,  a  real  estate  man,  in  valuing,  would  al- 
ways assume  it  in  that  situation.  In  the  North-Western  case, 
when  they  made  a  valuation  of  the  land  on  Madison  and  two  or 
three  adjacent  streets,  the  courts  decided  that  at  the  time  the 
North-Western  filed  a  bill  for  condemnation,  it  was  not  known 
that  it  would  be  a  terminal.  They  started  to  buy  there  long  be- 
fore anyone  knew  it,  and  then  objection  was  filed  that  it  was  not 
absolutely  known,  and  that  the  values  must  be  taken  as  of  that 
date,  without  relationship  to  terminal  values. 

Mr.  Oliver:    May  I  ask  Mr.  Rosenthal  a  question? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    Yes. 

Mr.  Oliver:  The  Rialto  Building  and  the  Board  of  Trade 
are  available  for  terminal  facilities  for  the  Lake  Shore  Rail- 
road. Now,  if  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  wanted  to  condemn  the 
Rialto  Building  and  the  Board  of  Trade,  what  would  any  court 
allow  it  as  the  price  to  be  paid  for  those  properties,  for  what 
use?  Any  higher  use  than  they  are  used  for  now,  or  the  price 
that  measures  their  present  use? 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  If  the  property  was  immediately  available 
for  railroad  purposes,  its  value  would  be  measured  by  that. 

Mr.  Oliver:    By  the  present  use? 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  No,  by  the  railroad  use,  or  its  availability 
for  railroad  purposes.  I  want  to  ask  a  question  in  connection 
with  that. 

Mr.  Oliver:    Go  ahead. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  You  said  no  factories  could  be  located 
there  and  run,  because  it  was  inaccessible? 

Mr.  Goldstine:  Alderman  Hey  asked  me  if  it  were  ac- 
cessible. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  You  said  a  moment  ago  it  could  not  be  used 
for  factory  purposes? 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  I  said  if  it  could  not  be  used  the  value  would 
be  restricted ;  that  it  would  not  have  as  great  a  value. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Under  the  ordinances  referred  to  here 
the  other  day,  now  in  force,  viaducts  can  be  constructed  across 
the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central,  and  without  any  cost 


245 

to  the  city.  The  streets  can  be  extended  across  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral right  of  way  without  any  cost  to  the  city ;  all  of  which  is  to 
be  foreclosed  by  this  ordinance. 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :  By  reason  of  the  fact  there  are  other  fea- 
tures in  connection  with  this  ordinance  that  take  away  the  avail- 
ability for  manufacturing  purposes. 

Mr.  Tabor  :  Our  valuation  was  predicated  on  the  streets  be- 
ing in,  the  sewers  being  there,  and  the  gas  being  there,  and  so 
on,  and  everything  completed  on  the  east  side  of  the  track,  and 
just  as  accessible  as  it  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  track,  Mr. 
Rosenthal. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :    And  not  the  railroad  tracks  being  there  ? 

Mr.  Taboe  :  Yes,  the  railroad  company  being  just  where  it 
is  today. 

Mr.  Van  Vlissingen  :  The  supposition  of  the  streets  being 
there  and  the  sewers  being  placed  there,  etc.,  it  would  have  been 
just  as  easy  to  predicate  the  value  upon  the  railroad  tracks  being 
placed  there. 

Mr.  Tabor  :    No,  because  I  am  not  a  railroad  man. 

Mr.  GoLDSTiNE :  There  is  only  one  thing  I  want  to  say  in  con- 
clusion. It  is  this:  I  don't  believe,  as  a  real  estate  proposition 
that  half  of  the  land  can  be  measured  by  the  particular  or  re- 
stricted use  of  a  corporation  or  person.  We  must  take  it,  as  I 
understand  the  question  of  values,  for  the  best  use ;  and  I  will  say 
that  as  a  matter  of  fact,  if  there  were  200  or  300  feet  filled  in 
there  east  of  the  present  Illinois  Central  right  of  way,  and  there 
was  no  question  of  the  Illinois  Central  wanting  that  land,  or  a 
trade  here  involved,  that  that  land  could  be  used  for  commercial 
purposes,  and  would  have  its  value ;  and  that  is  the  highest  and 
best  use,  in  my  opinion ;  and  that  is  the  value,  in  my  opinion,  that 
should  be  used  in  measuring  the  question  of  debit  and  credit  in 
this  proposition ;  not  what  its  use  is  as  being  particularly  valu- 
able to  some  one  person. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    Might  I  ask  jou  another  question? 

Mr.  Goldstine:    Certainly. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  In  the  estimate  the  other  day  of  the  Real 
Estate  Board,  it  was  stated  there  about  increased  values  down 
town  and  its  effect  on  the  city,  but  they  did  not  state  anything 
about  the  disturbance  of  values,  or  rather  the  destructive  results 
on  values  along  the  right  of  way  or  adjacent  or  neighborhood 
residence  property. 

Mr.  Goldstine  :  I  can  answer  that  in  this  way :  taking  the 
railroad  as  it  now  is,  and  take  it  away  from  there,  and  you  will 
damage  the  property  in  that  section  of  the  city,  in  my  opinion, 
tremendously.  That  section  of  the  city  depends  to  a  great  extent 
on  the  service  of  the  Illinois  Central,  and  in  my  experience  in- 


246 

stead  of  its  being  a  damage,  it  has  proven  to  the  contrary;  and 
in  every  case  where  there  has  been  added  transportation,  it  has 
inured  to  the  benefit  of  the  property  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
that  has  been  proved  time  and  again  right  on  the  South  Side. 

Mr.  McKay:  Over  the  Illinois  Central  there  is  the  West 
Michigan,  Big  Four  and  Michigan  Central. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    How  about  the  Wisconsin  Central? 

Mr.  McKay:  And  the  Wisconsin  Central.  Right  you  are 
for  once.  Those  values  are  found  by  pacing  off  the  right  of  way 
to  the  city  limits,  in  parcels  of  say  a  half  mile  in  length ;  and  an 
average  value  is  found  for  this  first  half  mile ;  so  much  for  the 
second  half  mile,  until  you  get  finally  to  the  city  limits.  One  of 
the  aldermen  here,  whose  name  I  don't  know,  asked  the  ques- 
tion: "Hasn't  it  a  different  value?"  And  I  want  to  give  you 
another  object  lesson  before  I  get  through.  Isn't  there  a  dif- 
ferent value  by  being  merely  adjacent  to  a  railroad,  and  not  any 
railroad  use  or  ownership?  There  isn't  one  whit  of  difference, 
and  one  hundred  cases  can  be  cited  to  you  of  trades  between  rail- 
roads themselves,  where  the  actual  transactions  between  them 
were  based  on  cash  market  values,  and  nothing  else.  In  answer 
to  Mr.  Rosenthal  that  there  is  something  peculiar  in  a  terminal 
value  when  it  is  owned  by  a  railroad,  I  can  say  to  you  and  can 
prove  it  by  facts  that  that  terminal  value  does  not  come  from 
the  act  of  the  railroad,  but  such  terminal  value  is  made  by  what 
the  community  value  is  about  that  particular  place  for  any  and 
all  uses.  To  make  it  clear,  the  railroads  sometimes  have  to  buy  a 
building  in  connection  with  land  for  railroad  use,  but  when  they 
have  made  that  purchase,  they  have  to  add  the  value  of  the  build- 
ing in  their  bookkeeping,  which  must  be  added  to  the  value  of  the 
land.  In  the  instance  of  the  Chicago  &  North-Western  Railway, 
at  its  new  terminal  at  Canal  and  Madison  streets,  the  average 
cost  of  the  terminal,  including  the  buildings,  was  $10  a  square 
foot. 

Railroad  value  is  not  the  highest  value  in  land.  Coming 
right  to  the  apex  or  culmination,  the  Buck  &  Rayner  corner,  at 
Madison  and  State  streets,  I  have  heard  it  proven  under  oath,  the 
fee  is  in  the  City  School  Board,  the  income  is  four  per  cent  on 
$400  a  square  foot,  or  $48,000.  In  other  words,  if  any  railroad 
seeking  to  get  a  corner  there,  were  to  go  down  through  Marshall 
Field's,  and  if  the  buildings  could  be  cast  off  for  the  time  being, 
if  they  were  seeking  to  purchase  the  property  based  on  its  com- 
mercial earnings  for  retail  use,  and  operate  a  railroad  based  on 
those  values,  it  would  simply  be  bankruptcy  for  the  amount  of 
money  that  a  railroad  can  earn.  I  want  to  show  you  that  there  is 
no  difference  in  the  value  of  land,  whether  the  ownership  is  in  a 
private  individual  and  adjacent  to  the  railroad,  or  that  same  land 


247 

or  the  land  next  to  it,  if  owned  by  a  railroad  and  in  actual  use  by 
a  railroad. 

Mr.  EosENTHAi. :    Then  you  disagree  with  the  evidence  here  1 

Mr.  McKay:  I  know  all  those  men.  Skeene  was  the  com- 
missioner for  the  road  for  years.  ^ 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    A  commissioner? 

Mr.  McKay:  Yes.  In  the  Pennsylvania-Sanitary  District 
case,  under  that  statement  of  the  law  that  there  is  no  cash  market 
value  in  land  when  in  railroad  use,  the  attorneys  for  that  rail- 
road got  up  a  specious  argument,  at  least  what  they  call  a  hypo- 
thetical question,  a  long  lingo  and  put  in,  assuming  so  and  so,  and 
assuming  so  and  so,  and  their  basis  was  this :  That  here  is  a 
railroad  that  extends  from  Chicago  to  Pittsburg,  525  miles ;  that 
here  is  the  total  earnings  of  that  stretch  of  railroad  disassociated 
from  the  holdings  at  the  eastern  end,  so  many  dollars ;  now  out 
of  that  gross  earnings  you  are  to  take  sixty  per  cent,  for  operat- 
ing charges  and  expenses  and  repairs,  and  things  of  that  kind ; 
then  you  are  to  assume  that  so  much  freight  originated  at  Pitts- 
burg, and  so  much  along  the  line,  and  then  so  much  originated 
at  the  Chicago  station,  reciprocally,  and  you  take  all  those  things 
together,  and  on  that  sum  then  you  will  find  a  four  per  cent, 
computation  of  what  your  railroad  value  is.    Now,  what  is  it? 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    What  was  your  answer? 

Mr.  McKay  :  I  will  give  you  the  answer.  I  was  connected 
with  the  case  for  the  Sanitary  District,  myself,  and  got  up  all 
the  data,  and  I  got  seven  or  eight  of  the  best  real  estate  men  in 
Chicago,  and  got  their  sworn  oath,  based  on  their  experience,  and 
their  valuation  was  $9  a  square  foot.  The  railroad  people  came 
on,  and  one  of  them,  Fred  Douglas,  said  he  never  saw  this  prop- 
erty until  yesterday.  Then  the  hypothetical  question  was  put  to 
him,  and  he  was  asked,  was  he  competent  to  put  a  value  on  such 
a  piece  of  property.  He  said :  ' '  Surely,  I  will  put  a  value  on  any 
piece  of  property  in  the  United  States."  His  value  was  $145  a 
square  foot,  in  place  of  $9  a  square  foot ;  but  the  thing  was  so 
ridiculous  to  the  jury,  that  the  verdict  of  the  jury  was  exactly  $9 
and  nothing  else,  and  the  company  did  not  appeal  it,  but  took  the 
$9  for  the  property,  and  were  satisfied. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  If  you  had  a  property  to  sell,  you  would  be 
interested  in  getting  as  good  a  price  as  you  could,  wouldn't  you? 

Mr.  McKay  :    Yes. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  A  piece  of  property  is  just  worth  what  you 
can  get  for  it. 

Mr.  McKay:  Yes,  and  the  community  is  what  makes  that, 
and  the  sales  are  the  best  test  of  values  any  mortal  man  ever 
knew. 


248 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  May  I  ask  a  question,  and  put  it  hypo- 
thetically!    May  I  put  a  hypothetical  question? 

Mr.  McKay  :  I  am  rich  enough  to  say  I  never  had  the  dis- 
ease.   Go  ahead. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Mr.  McKay,  assuming  that  the  right  of 
way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  is  leased  to  an- 
other railroad  company  on  a  basis  of  five  per  cent,  on  the  valua- 
tion by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  upon  that  par- 
ticular right  of  way,  would  that  be  an  indica^tion  in  your  mind 
that  it  is  the  value  ? 

Mr.  McKay  :  I  would  have  to  know  the  circumstances  under 
which  that  was  made.  In  the  instance  of  the  Great  Western, 
where  they  were  held  up  at  the  throat,  where  they  go  over  the 
Taylor  Street  bridge  and  wanted  to  get  that  as  against  the  North- 
western and  another  railroad,  they  had  to  pay  between  two  and 
three  times  what  it  was  worth  under  other  circumstances. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Then  will  the  answer  to  the  hypothetical 
question  number  two  be  that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany at  the  present  time  does  not  want  this  additional  right  of 
way  for  its  own  purposes ;  consequently,  we  are  justified  in  infer- 
ring that  it  will  lease  this  right  of  way  to  other  railroads,  to  give 
them  terminal  facilities  ?  Do  you  think  that  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company,  in  leasing  this  additional  200-foot  strip,  or 
400-foot  strip,  to  other  railroads,  will  be  governed  simply  by  its 
value  for  ordinary  purposes,  or  for  railroad  purposes'? 

Mr.  McKay  :  I  do,  both  for  ordinary  and  railroad  uses,  which 
are  identical.  Now,  Mr.  Rosenthal,  there  is  this  to  be  said,  that 
from  the  different  things  which  happen  to  a  railroad  in  acquiring 
land,  the  average  experience  all  over  Chicago  is  that  the  mini- 
mum cost  to  the  railroad  has  been  one  and  a  quarter  times  its 
track  value,  or  125  per  cent,  in  a  total  of  one  hundred.  There  are 
instances  where  the  purchases  run  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  per 
cent.,  due  to  obstructions  in  the  way,  and  the  further  fact  that 
everybody  tries  to  get  ahead  of  them.  When  a  railroad  goes 
through,  they  have  to  have  the  property,  and  the  law  confines 
them  mthin  certain  strips,  and  under  those  circumstances,  the 
railroads  have  to  pay  one  and  a  quarter  to  one  and  a  half  times 
what  the  ordinary  right  of  way  is  worth. 

Mr.  Rosenthal  :  Assume  this  to  be  the  case :  assume  that 
at  the  present  time  there  is  a  railroad  which  is  seeking  better  ter- 
minal facilities,  a  better  entrance  into  the  City  of  Chicago,  and 
leased  that  submerged  land  for  a  right  of  way,  200  feet  wide, 
extending  from  Fifty-first  Street  to  Twelfth  Street  at  the  rate 
of  $5  a  square  foot,  would  that  be  an  index  of  its  value? 

Mr.  McKay:    Mr.  Rosenthal,  I  could  not  even  assume  that 


249 

as  a  hypothetical  question  without  better  knowledge  than  I  have 
now.    No  other  railroad  could  use  it. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    No  other  railroad  than  what? 

Mr.  McKay  :  No  other  railroad  than  the  Illinois  Central  can 
use  this  strip  at  all. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  If  they  had  a  connection  at  Fifty-first 
Street? 

Mr.  McKay:  Yes,  if  it  had  a  connection  at  the  north  and 
south,  and  no  other  railroad  could  get  there.  If  it  ever  gets  it, 
then  the  Illinois  Central  can  lease  to  another  railroad  to  come 
in;  but  for  another  railroad  to  come  in  there,  to  get  the  right 
of  way  adjacent  to  the  Illinois  Central  on  that  submerged  land, 
it  is  a  lawful  impossibility,  and  they  can't  get  it. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:    Why  is  it  a  lawful  impossibility? 

Mr.  McKay:  The  Illinois  Central  has  its  claim  for  the  ri- 
parian rights.  The  only  one  who  can  condemn  is  the  Park  Board, 
and  when  the  Park  Board  gets  it,  it  can  neither  lease  it  for  rail- 
road or  commercial  use. 

Mr.  Rosenthal:  Supposing  the  railroad  condemned  it  to 
lease  to  other  railroads? 

Mr.  McKay  :  I  take  it  if  that  were  to  occur,  the  State  would 
have  the  paramount  right. 

Mr.  Heron  :  May  I  ask  the  committee  if  any  ladies  have  ap- 
peared before  this  committee  regarding  this  ordinance  ? 

The  Chairman:    No. 

Mr.  Heron  :  I  think  if  the  ladies  on  the  South  Side  appeared 
here,  there  would  not  be  half  the  hesitation  that  there  is  with  this 
committee.  I  have  ridden  from  Hyde  Park  down  town  many 
times,  and  I  have  seen  many  ladies  turn  their  faces  from  the  lake 
for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  lake  is  lined  with  a  lot  of  nude 
men.  Now  then,  the  Illinois  Central  has  been  on  the  lake  front 
since  1886,  when  I  came  here.  It  was  reported  all  over  Chicago 
that  they  had  stolen  it  then,  that  they  were  usurpers  and  had  no 
business  there.  They  are  there  now,  and  that  is  twenty-five  or 
twenty-six  years  ago.  They  are  going  to  be  there.  Now  then,  let's 
get  this  ordinance  through.  As  I  said,  the  South  Side  Business 
Men's  Association,  the  men  that  are  in  business  there  from 
Eighteenth  street  to  Forty-seventh  street,  are  in  favor  of  this  or- 
dinance as  tentatively  agreed  upon.  That  ordinance,  if  passed, 
perhaps  will  be  submitted  to  a  court;  the  only  vulnerable  place 
it  can  be  attacked  is  whether  this  transfer  is  equitable ;  whether 
you  are  giving  to  the  Illinois  Central  more  than  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral is  giving  to  you. 

Now  then,  if  you  take  and  place  in  there  that  little  thing  that 
I  asked  for  when  I  stood  up  here  at  the  commencement  of  this 
meeting,  a  five-cent  fare  anywhere  along  the  Illinois  Central, 


250 

there  is  no  jury,  no  matter  what  their  enmity  toward  the  Illinois 
Central,  who  will  ever  interfere  with  the  ordinance;  for  then 
there  is  no  one  that  can  say  that  this  ordinance,  if  agreed  upon, 
on  that  five-cent  fare,  if  placed  in  there,  is  not  equitable,  that 
Chicago  is  not  getting  a  full  compensation  for  the  trade,  that  will 
give  to  the  city  and  to  the  people  in  the  city,  some  benefit.  There- 
fore, I  sa}^,  gentlemen,  put  that  in  the  ordinance.  If  the  Illinois 
Central  won't  agree  to  it,  make  them  agree  to  it.  Give  the  people 
out  south  there  a  five-cent  fare  anywhere  along  on  their  suburban 
trains. 

The  Chairman:  The  ladies  will  have  to  put  up  with  the 
conditions  that  exist  there.  This,  gentlemen,  concludes  the  pub- 
lic hearings.  If  there  is  anyone  that  wishes  to  present  any  facts 
to  this  committee,  if  they  will  put  them  in  writing,  they  will  be 
given  the  same  consideration  as  if  they  were  here  present. 

The  meeting  will  be  concluded,  and  we  will  meet  here  on  next 
Monday  at  three  o'clock,  to  consider  the  ordinance. 

Whereupon  an  adjournment  was  taken  until  the  following 
Monday,  February  5, 1912,  at  three  o'clock  p.  m. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  HARBORS,  WHARVES  AND  BRIDGES 
OF  THE   CITY   COUNCIL  OF   CHICAGO. 

Monday,  February  5,  1912,  3  o'clock  p.  m. 


The  committee  was  called  to  order  by  the  chairman,  Alder- 
man Littler. 

Secretary  Harrah  called  the  roll,  showing  the  following 
members  of  the  committee  present:  Aldermen  Littler,  Long, 
Nance,  Emerson,  Buckley,  Kunz,  Brennan,  Geiger,  Hey,  Block, 
Ryan  and  Forsberg.  Among  others  present  were  the  following : 
Mr.  Skinner,  representing  Corporation  Counsel's  office;  E.  B. 
Butler,  Henry  W.  Lee,  Lessing  Rosenthal,  Mayor  Harrison,  Mr. 
Van  Vlissengen. 

The  Chairman  :  Now  we  are  here  to  consider  this  ordinance 
which  has  been  under  discussion  in  a  public  way  for  the  last  ten 
days.  What  is  your  pleasure?  How  shall  we  proceed  to  finish 
up  this  ordinance  ? 

Aid.  Geiger:  I  was  not  at  the  last  meeting  owing  to  illness, 
but  have  attended  all  the  previous  meetings.  I  was  informed 
that  this  was  to  be  an  executive  session,  is  that  true? 

The  Chairman  :  No,  sir.  This  is  the  committee  strictly,  and 
we  concluded  the  public  hearings  on  last  Friday.  I  announced 
that  if  there  were  any  resolutions  the  committee  would  be  glad 


251 

to  receive  them.  How  shall  we  proceed  with  the  matter  in  ques- 
tion? 

Aid.  Nance:  I  would  like  to  know  what  disposition  has 
been  made  of  the  communications  sent  to  the  committee. 

The  Chairman  :  The  resolutions  are  all  here  on  file — every- 
thing that  has  been  presented  in  the  way  of  a  resolution  or  argu- 
ment is  part  of  the  records  in  this  matter. 

Aid.  Brennan  :  I  would  like  to  ask,  Mr.  Chairman,  if  there 
is  any  opinion  from  the  Corporation  Counsel's  office,  or  from 
anywhere  else,  regarding  the  riparian  rights  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral, if  they  have  any,  to  this  committee  ? 

The  Chairman  :  We  have  received  no  opinion  from  the  Cor- 
poration Counsel's  office. 

Aid.  Brennan  :  How  are  you  going  to  proceed  if  you  have 
nothing  to  proceed  on?  How  are  you  going  to  give  the  Illinois 
Central  the  right  to  property  when  you  do  not  know  whether  they 
have  a  right  there  at  all? 

The  Chairman  :  I  think  that  is  a  matter  of  opinion,  whether 
there  is — whether  they  have  any  riparian  rights  there.  It  will 
have  to  be  threshed  out  in  court.  It  seems  to  me  if  we  waited  a 
day  or  two  days  to  receive  an  opinion  from  the  Corporation 
Counsel  that  would  not  help  us  solve  this  problem,  because  that 
would  be  a  matter  of  litigation  anyhow. 

Aid.  Brennan;  You  do  not  want  this  committee  to  go  on 
record  as  voting  for  something,  and  the  Corporation  Counsel 
come  in  with  an  opinion  and  make  a  lot  of  fools  of  us  ? 

The  Chairman  :    No,  sir. 

Aid.  Brennan  :  It  seems  to  me  that  is  the  way  we  are  doing 
or  attempting  to  do. 

Aid.  FoRSBERG :    How  long  will  it  take  to  get  that  opinion? 

The  Chairman  :  We  have  asked  the  Corporation  Counsel  to 
appear  here  at  this  meeting.  As  soon  as  he  gets  here  we  will 
find  out. 

Aid.  Block  :  I  am  not  in  favor  of  putting  the  responsibility 
on  any  one  judge  rendering  an  opinion  upon  this  proposition. 
I  think  the  responsibility  will  sooner  or  later  be  up  to  this  com- 
mittee. I  think  the  proper  thing  is  to  find  out  whether  the  Illi- 
nois Central  has  any  riparian  rights  which  they  are  trading 
away,  and  if  they  have,  we  can  find  that  out.  That  must  be  our 
position,  it  seems  to  me,  before  we  go  any  further.  All  the  dis- 
cussion we  have  had  here  for  the  last  three  or  four  days  seems 
to  indicate  very  good  arguments  against  it.  I  have  not  anything 
in  my  mind  that  indicates  that  they  have  any  riparian  rights.  If 
that  is  established,  then  we  have  a  basis  to  work  on. 

Aid.  Nance  :  Let  us  go  back  a  little  further.  We  have  gone 
ahead  now  without  an  opportunity  of  hearing  or  receiving  much 


252 

information.  Now  how  about  the  communications  that  have  been 
placed  before  this  committee — whether  they  are  going  to  be 
brought  before  the  members  of  the  committee  or  notf 

The  Chairman  :    I  think  they  were  all  ready. 

Aid.  Nance  :  I  notice  there  has  been  a  stenographic  report 
made  of  these  meetings ;  for  what  purpose  has  that  been  done? 

The  Chairman  :    For  a  matter  of  record. 

Aid.  Nance  :  If  they  are  of  any  value  it  seems  to  me  there 
should  be  a  transcript  and  copies  furnished  to  the  committee. 

The  Chairman:  Nothing  more  than  to  keep  a  record  of 
everything  that  has  taken  place  pertaining  to  the  whole  subject 
matter.  Now  you  are  aware  that  if  we  had  all  this  printed,  it 
would  cost  several  hundred  dollars,  and  would  the  committee  read 
them  I  You  know  what  is  the  usual  disposition  that  is  made  of 
these  records. 

Aid.  Nance  :    I  presume 

The  Chairman  :  I  for  myself  would  not  read  a  line.  The 
members  have  been  in  attendance  and  heard  the  arguments,  now 
it  would  not  expedite  matters  by  having  these  printed  and  placed 
before  each  member  of  the  committee,  because  it  is  assumed  they 
are  able  to  judge  on  the  merits  of  the  whole  case. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  we  want  to  formulate  an  ordinance  along 
the  lines  that  are  best  adapted  for  the  protection  of  the  public. 
Now  this  suggestion  of  Alderman  Brennan — that  we  should  re- 
ceive at  the  start  an  opinion  from  the  Corporation  Counsel's 
office  appears  to  me  a  very  wise  suggestion.  We  have  not  had 
such  an  opinion  and  it  seems  to  me  the  arguments  on  this  whole 
matter  have  been  largely  a  matter  of  riparian  rights — whether 
the  Illinois  Central  has  anything  to  give  away  or  not.  Now  if  the 
Corporation  Counsel  can  advise  this  committee  that  in  their 
opinion  they  have  rights  there  which  would  have  to  be  settled 
for  in  order  to  make  this  ordinance  binding  on  all  parties,  it 
seems  to  me  it  would  be  well  enough  to  have  that  opinion. 

Aid.  Long  :  I  think  it  is  rather  difficult  to  go  into  that  for 
this  reason,  as  you  know  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commis- 
sion has  a  suit  pending  against  the  Illinois  Central  covering  this 
entire  lake  shore,  on  the  theory  that  the  railroad  company  is  a 
trespasser.  We  filed  a  bill  in  equity  about  eighteen  months  ago 
and  the  Illinois  Central  demurred  to  our  bill.  The  demurrer  was 
sustained  by  the  lower  court.  The  city  was  overruled  in  its  con- 
tention on  the  ground  that  there  were  no  sufficient  allegations 
as  to  specific  tracts  claimed.  I  will  not  enter  into  the  history  of 
this  litigation,  but  what  I  wish  to  say  is  this,  we  had  to  make  out 
a  prima  facie  case.  If  any  of  you  have  had  a  suit  in  court  you 
know  what  that  contemplates.  Now  in  order  to  do  that  we  had 
to  have  a  survey  made  of  the  entire  lake  shore  and  also  a  com- 


253 

plete  abstract  of  title.  We  have  procured  the  abstract  of  title 
from  the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company  at  an  expense  of  about 
$3,500.  We  also  made  a  complete  survey  of  the  lake  shore.  It 
was  made  by  Mr.  Inman,  of  the  City  Map  Department.  He 
worked  upon  this  matter  for  upwards  of  a  year  and  a  half,  and 
made  a  very  exhaustive  study  and  map  and  gathered  volumes 
of  testimony.  We  have  prepared  an  amended  bill  in  order  to 
hold  ourselves  in  court  based  upon  this  additional  testimony. 
Now,  of  course,  the  Corporation  Counsel  being  the  attorney  in 
this  suit  would  be  put  in  rather  an  unfair  position  if  he  were 
asked  to  give  an  opinion,  because  he  certainly  could  not  give  any- 
thing other  than  an  opinion  to  sustain  his  suit  at  this  time. 

We  realize  this  fact,  gentlemen,  the  railroad  company  has 
this  land ;  it  is  in  actual  possession. 

Aid.  Bkennan  :    They  have  the  land  they  want  now. 

Aid.  Long  :  Yes.  They  have  the  land  and  we  cannot  do  any- 
thing on  the  lake  shore  in  the  way  of  improvements — in  the  way 
of  getting  our  improvements  started  until  we  get  permission 
from  them  to  do  it,  or  win  out  in  our  suit,  one  or  the  other,  or 
get  authority  from  the  Legislature  to  condemn.  There  are  three 
ways  we  can  proceed.  We  have  either  to  win  in  our  bill  in 
chancery,  or  we  must  negotiate  mth  the  Illinois  Central,  or  we 
must  go  to  the  Illinois  Legislature  and  get  power  to  condemn. 
Let  us  consider  the  first  method:  Suppose  we  win  out  against 
the  Illinois  Central,  we  do  not  expect  in  any  event  to  win  the 
whole  lake  shore.  The  company  has  title  to  a  great  deal,  and  we 
do  not  expect,  even  with  the  most  favorable  result,  to  win  th* 
whole  of  the  lake  shore,  but  we  do  expect  to  get  spots  of  it  here 
and  there,  so  that  even  a  victory  in  this  suit  would  leave  us  in  a 
position  not  well  designed  to  accomplish  the  best  results.  A  vic- 
tory might  be  a  partial  victory;  it  might  be  a  small  one  or  it 
might  be  no  victory  at  all.  You  know  the  uncertainty  of  law 
suits  as  well  as  I  do. 

Aid.  Brennan  :    I  never  had  one  in  my  life. 

Aid.  Long  :  You  are  fortunate  that  you  never  have  had  one. 
So  you  see,  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  that  this  is  not  a  question 
of  opinion.  An  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel  or  any  other 
lawyer's  opinion  would  not  be  any  better  than  my  opinion  or 
yours. 

Now  as  to  the  possibility  of  the  city  getting  immediate  pos- 
session of  the  lake  front  and  riparian  rights.  What  we  want  is 
the  entire  lake  shore,  not  spots  of  it.  There  is  still  another  way 
we  can  get  it — we  can  condemn  spots  of  it  for  harbors  and  bath- 
ing beaches.    We  have  that  power  under  the  law. 

Aid.  Emerson:    The  Mayor  vetoed  that. 

Aid.  Long:    We  could  renew  the  ordinance. 


254 

Aid.  Emerson  :    That  has  been  vetoed. 

Aid.  Long:  Assuming  that  this  whole  movement  fell  down, 
we  could  again  renew  our  ordinance  for  the  harbor  location  and 
thus  acquire  a  large  part  of  the  shore  property,  but  it  would  be 
unreasonable  to  assume  the  city  would  want  all  of  the  lake  shore 
from  Grant  Park  to  Fifty-first  Street  for  harbor  purposes.  We 
could  also  take  such  portion  of  the  lake  shore  as  might  be  reason- 
ably needed  for  bathing  beach  purposes.  But  none  of  these 
methods  would  give  us  complete  control  of  the  lake  shore,  and 
enable  us  to  carry  out  a  homogeneous  plan  covering  the  whole 
shore  line. 

It  seems  to  me  that  to  wait  for  an  involved  opinion  would 
not  help  us  materially.  We  are  confronted  with  a  condition  some- 
what peculiar,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  up  to  us  to  decide 
whether,  under  all  the  circumstances,  knowing  the  uncertainty 
of  these  chances  and  efforts  that  are  being  made  by  the  city  and 
by  the  State  to  get  possession  of  the  lake  shore,  whether  it  would 
not  be  wiser  for  us  to  recommend  some  kind  of  an  ordinance,  an 
ordinance  that  would  suit  us,  suit  the  members  of  this  committee. 
It  seems  to  me  the  wise  way  to  do  is  to  pass  or  recommend  some 
kind  of  an  ordinance — an  ordinance  that  we  can  subscribe  to,  and 
put  it  up  to  the  Illinois  Central  to  either  accept  or  reject  the  same. 

Aid.  Brennan:  How  are  you  going  to  pass  an  ordinance — 
I  am  ready  to  vote.  I  believe  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  not 
the  right  there  that  they  ought  to  have  to  be  paid  for.  If  they 
have  not  got  the  right  I  do  not  believe  the  City  of  Chicago  should 
give  them  any  property  or  pay  them  for  it.  That  is  the  way  I 
feel  about  it.  I  am  not  against  the  Illinois  Central,  but  let  us 
define  their  rights.  I  am  not  going  to  come  in  here  and  vote 
blindly. 

Aid.  Long  :  We  know  from  an  examination  of  the  titles  that 
they  own  a  fee  simple  title  to  a  large  portion  of  those  lands.  The 
ordinance  giving  them  the  right  to  locate  their  tracks  there  was 
passed  in  1852.  The  Act  of  the  Legislature  giving  the  city  the 
right  to  pass  the  ordinance  was  passed  in  1851,  and  after  the  city 
passed  that  ordinance  in  1852  the  Illinois  Central  had  nothing  but 
a  right  of  way,  but  during  the  last  fifty  years  the  Illinois  Central 
has  acquired  by  purchase  the  fee  and  has  deeds  of  conveyance 
for  the  land  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street,  except 
only  a  strip  of  land  known  as  the  Walker  Estate,  which  was  for- 
merly owned  by  Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  his  heirs.  Now  to  ap- 
proximately 50  per  cent,  of  the  shore  lands  in  question,  there  is 
no  question  as  to  title.  Any  lawyer  who  has  ever  examined  the 
abstract  would  come  to  this  conclusion.  As  to  some  of  the  re- 
maining 50  per  cent,  there  is  serious  cloud  upon  the  title,  but  the 
railroad  has  the  best  record  title  there  is.    On  some  of  the  lands 


255 

they  have  acquired,  they  have  imdoubtedly  extended  beyond  the 
water  line  by  trespass.  Just  how  far  their  trespass  will  affect 
their  riparian  rights  is  a  matter  that  the  courts  will  differ  about. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  If  that  is  the  case  and  they  have  acquired 
a  certain  part  of  their  lands  by  trespass,  then  in  that  way  they 
are  in  bad  odor  with  the  City  of  Chicago,  are  they  not? 

Aid.  Long  :    I  am  just  telling  you  what  I  understand  about  it. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  I  want  to  say  this,  alderman,  you  stated  that 
the  Corporation  Counsel  would  be  rather  embarrassed  in  render- 
ing an  opinion.  We  have  several  lawyers  before  this  committee, 
we  have  had  Mr.  Comerford  and  Mr.  Eosenthal  and  I  have  no 
doubt  they  are  eminent  lawyers.  Now,  why — we  may  ask  for  an 
opinion  from  the  Corporation  Counsel  and  he  would  give  it  to 
us — why  not  have  it  from  those  two  other  lawyers  along  with  the 
Corporation  Counsel's  opinion  and  we  would  relieve  him  from 
his  embarrassment,  so  to  speak? 

The  Chairman  :  Here  is  a  communication  from  the  Chicago 
Title  &  Trust  Company,  addressed  to  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners, which  I  will  have  the  secretary  read. 

(Secretary  Harrah  read  the  following)  : 

CHICAGO  TITLE  AND  TRUST  COMPANY, 

Title  and  Trust  Building, 

Chicago. 

January  31,  1912. 

Guarantee  Department. 
South  Park  Commissioners,  Chicago,  III. 

Gentlemen: — We  have  made  examination  of  the  sundry  opinions  here- 
tofore made  for  you  showing  the  condition  of  the  title  to  all  lands  lying 
easterly  of  the  easterly  line  of  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road from  Twelfth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  made 
during  the  months  of  May  and  June,  A.  D.  1907.  From  such  examination  it 
appears  that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  is  the  owner  in  fee  of 
approximately  22,105  lineal  feet  of  the  land,  or  the  riparian  rights  appurte- 
nant thereto,  and  lying  easterly  of  said  right  of  way,  and  that  said  company 
acquired  a  right  of  way  by  condemnation  proceedings  over  approximately 
805  lineal  feet  of  said  right  of  way,  and  that  said  company  holds  title  to 
approximately  2,130  lineal  feet  of  said  right  of  way  without  rights  to  any 
land  formed  or  acquired  easterly  of  said  right  of  way. 

This  summary  is  subject  to  all  assumptions,  matters  and  objections 
affecting  the  title  to  the  premises  covered  by  the  above  statement,  which 
are  shown  or  noted  in  the  opinions  above  referred  to. 

Yours  truly, 
Chicago  Title  and  Trust  Company, 
Walter  B.  Smith,  Assistant  Secretary. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  It  appears  to  me  it  does  not  give  a  decided 
answer  to  the  committee. 

Aid.  KuNz :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  understood  that  we  were  going 
to  have  an  opinion  from  the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust  Company 
showing  the  title  of  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  Company — 
now,  have  you  got  that? 


256 

The  Chairman  :  That  is  from  the  Chicago  Title  &  Trust 
Company  that  you  have  just  heard  read. 

Aid.  KuNz :    That  is  not  a  certificate. 

Aid.  Ryan  :    Aid.  Utpatel. 

The  Chairman:    Yes,  sir. 

Aid.  Utpatel  :  Now,  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen,  I  do  not 
live  on  the  South  Side.  I,  in  part,  represent  a  ward  on  the 
Northwest  Side,  yet  no  alderman  should  shirk  his  duty,  but 
should  take  up  every  question  that  pertains  to  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago and  its  people. 

Back  beyond  my  time,  because  I  am  a  young  man — a  younger 
man  than  I  appear  to  be — the  Illinois  Central  got  certain  rights 
for  certain  purposes,  namely,  the  laying  of  track  on  a  certain 
piece  of  gromid  on  the  lake  front,  and  every  lawyer  who  has 
ever  read  Blackstone  or  some  one  on  real  property,  knows  that 
only  the  natural  accretions  created  by  the  acts  of  God  are 
riparian  rights,  and  I  believe  Mr.  Rosenthal  here,  who  is  a  well- 
known  attorney,  will  bear  me  out.  Accretions  to  land  were  never 
intended  to  be  created  by  human  hand,  by  fence,  by  piers  or  any 
other  device,  so  that  the  claim  that  Chicago  by  going  into  any 
contract  today  or  at  any  time  will  legalize  everything  that  has 
been  stolen  from  the  State  of  Illinois  on  the  lake  shore — now, 
that  is  a  question  upon  which  lawyers  differ,  even  the  Supreme 
Court  differs ;  but  I  want  to  say  to  you,  gentlemen,  that  this  is  a 
very,  very  large  question,  and  an  important  matter  to  us  in  the 
City  of  Chicago.  I  believe  I  am  right  when  I  say  that  there  is  a 
committee  of  the  Council,  appointed  during  the  time  when  his 
Honor  Mr.  Busse  held  the  office  of  Mayor,  which  was  to  inquire 
into  the  titles  of  all  riparian  rights  and  lake  shore  rights,  and  if 
Mr.  Long  will  remember,  I  got  up  and  made  a  motion  to  amend 
that  resolution  which  would  call  for  the  investigation  of  titles 
and  rights  to  land  along  the  lake  shore  from  the  city  limits  on  the 
north  to  the  south  limits,  and  that  amendment  stood.  I  am 
right,  am  I  not,  Mr.  Long? 

Mr.  Long:    That  is  right. 

Aid.  Utpatel  :  I  do  not  believe  at  this  time  that  we  should 
handle  this  matter  until  we  hear  from  this  committee.  This  com- 
mittee is  a  good  committee.  I  understood  they  were  to  ascertain 
the  rights  of  the  various  people  along  the  lake  shore.  The  com- 
mittee has  not  yet  reported,  I  believe. 

I  do  not  want  to  go  into  anything  that  I  think  is  the  least  bit 
uncertain.  You  have  here  a  so-called  opinion  of  the  Chicago 
Title  &  Trust  Company,  what  is  it?  It  is  based  on  assumptions ; 
no  laAvyer,  no  matter  how  cheap  he  is,  would  take  a  guaranty  pol- 
icy based  upon  assumptions.  Now,  I  believe  that  you  should 
first  find  out  what  this  committee  of  investigation  has  done  and 


257 

has  accomplished  in  the  way  of  ascertaining  the  titles  and  rights. 
I  myself  do  not  believe  that  this  railroad  company  has  any  such 
title  as  some  of  you  gentlemen  think,  and  I  think  if  you  should  go 
into  this  contract  you  will  ratify  everything  illegal  they  have 
done,  because  you  have  practically  closed  your  door;  it  is  just 
like  confessing  a  judgment;  and  I  want  to  tell  you,  gentlemen, 
that  I  do  not  think  it  is  right.  You  ought  to  go  deeper  into  the 
matter.  You  should  first  hear  from  the  committee  of  the  City 
Council  which  is  now  investigating  the  so-called  riparian  rights. 
I  tell  you  that  the  average  riparian  right  existing  along  the  lake 
shore  of  Lake  Michigan  is  a  myth  and  a  farce. 

Sec.  Haekah  :  Here  is  a  communication  signed  by  twenty- 
six  owners  of  property  along  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Eailroad  between  Thirty -first  and  Thirty-third  Streets, 
addressed  to  the  committee  under  date  of  February  3,  as  follows : 

Chicago,  February  3,  1912. 

To  the  Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges  of  the  City  Council  of 
the  City  of  Chicago. 

Gentlemen: — The  undersigned,  citizens  of  Chicago  and  owners  of  real 
estate  along  Lake  Park  Avenue,  between  Thirty-first  Street  and  Thirty-third 
Street,  adjacent  to  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany, respectfully  petition  your  honorable  body  to  disapprove  of  any  ordi- 
nance proposing  to  ratify  the  agreement  between  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  dated  December  11,  1911, 
for  the  following  reasons: 

1.  The  grant  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  of  a  right  of 
way  from  Fifty-first  Street  to  Twelfth  Street,  ranging  in  width  from  four 
hundred  feet  to  seven  hundred  feet,  will  establish  a  large  railroad  yard  along 
our  lake  front  and  adjacent  to  the  proposed  new  park. 

2.  On  account  of  the  intolerable  noise,  the  smoke,  soot  and  grime,  the 
stationing  of  cars,  both  freight  and  passenger,  such  railroad  yard  will 
constitute  a  nuisance  and  menace  to  the  people  of  Chicago. 

3.  Such  railroad  yard  will  constitute  a  great  barrier  to  the  proper 
enjoyment  by  all  the  people  of  Chicago,  of  the  proposed  new  park. 

4.  Such  railroad  yard  will  destroy,  in  a  large  measure,  not  only  the 
beauty  and  cultivation,  but  also  the  utilization  of  the  proposed  park. 

5.  Such  railroad  yard  will  be  especially  damaging  to  all  the  neigh- 
boring residence  property. 

6.  The  grant  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  appears  to  be  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  value  of  the  property  surrendered  by  the  railroad  com- 
pany. 

For  the  foregoing  reasons,  we  respectfully  petition  you  to  reject  the 
contract  you  are  asked  to  ratify,  and  we  recommend  to  you  that  you  ratify 
no  agreement  between  the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  which  does  not  provide  the  following: 

1.  That  the  right  of  way  between  Twenty-ninth  Street  and  Fifty-first 
Street  be  confined  to  a  width  not  to  exceed  250  feet — the  width  of  the 
present  right  of  way  between  Forty-first  Street  and  Fifty-first  Street. 

2.  That  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  be  de- 
pressed so  that  an  unobstructed  view  across  the  right  of  way  of  the  pro- 
posed new  park  and  the  lake  may  be  secured,  and  so  that  no  approaches  need 
be  built  for  any  viaducts  crossing  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way. 

3.  That  the  use  of  a  right  of  way  south  of  Thirty-first  Street  be  re- 
stricted to  purely  railroad  purposes,  and  that  no  structures  be  permitted 
thereon,  other  than  such  as  are  necessary  for  strictly   railroad  purposes, 


258 

and  that  no  such  structure  be  higher  than  the  adjacent  lands  on  the  west 
of  the  right  of  way. 

4.  That  as  soon  as  practicable,  after  the  lapse  of  five  years,  the  rail- 
road company  be  compelled  to  operate  its  trains  within  certain  limits  of  the 
City  of  Chicago  only  by  electricity. 

Your  petitioners  respectfully  suggest  to  your  honorable  body  that  you 
will  ultimately  serve  the  whole  city  only  by  insisting  upon  the  foregoing 
limitations  and  restrictions. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Chauncey  Dewey,  3266  Lake  Park  Ave.,  350  ft. 
J.  ScHivERiNG,  3248  Lake  Park  Ave. 

E.  H.  Packabd,  3206  Lake  Park  Ave. 

F.  G.  Whiting,  3152-3154  Lake  Park  Ave. 
Wm.  G.  Costello,  3212  Lake  Park  Ave. 

E.  F.  Sherwood,  3146  Lake  Park  Ave. 
E.  W.  BuBNHAM,  3142  Lake  Park  Ave. 
L.  B.  Gannon,  3136  Lake  Park  Ave. 
Thos.  L.  Gilmer,  3220  Lake  Park  Ave. 
L.  B.  Vaughn,  3230  Lake  Park  Ave. 
R.  B.  Miller,  3228  Lake  Park  Ave. 
J.  M.  Post,  3224  Lake  Park  Ave. 
W.  D.  Mahin,  3222  Lake  Park  Ave. 
A.  G.  Olson,  3116  Lake  Park  Ave. 
J.  F.  Wallach,  3216  Lake  Park  Ave. 
L.  H.  Knodell,  3150  Lake  Park  Ave. 

E.  A.  James,  3259  Groveland  Ave. 

J.  C.  Baldwin,  3217  Groveland  Ave. 
J.  S.  Taylor,  3225  Groveland  Ave. 
D.  T.  KiLEY,  3227  Groveland  Ave. 

G.  D.  Stone,  3241  Groveland  Ave. 

W.  B.  Cunningham,  3249  Groveland  Ave. 
R.  C.  McMuLLiN,  3262  Groveland  Ave. 

F.  J.  Staehle,  3242  Groveland  Ave. 
W.  H.  Thomas,  3234  Groveland  Ave. 
P.  B.  Coffin,  3232  Groveland  Ave. 

Sec.  Hakeah:  Here  is  a  communication  from  Aaron  M. 
McKay,  addressed  to  the  chairman,  under  date  of  February  5, 
as  follows: 

AARON  M.  M'KAY, 

Real  Estate, 

112  North  La  Salle  Street. 

Chicago,  February  5,  1912. 
Alderman  Harry  Littler,  Chicago,  III. 

Dear  Sir: — Aside  from  the  compilation  turned  into  your  committee  by 
me  as  to  exact  amounts  paid  in  transactions  between  railroads,  I  would  like 
to  add  this: 

Mr.  Rosenthal  seeks  to  have  you  men  draw  the  inference  that  because 
three  men  expressed  an  opinion  in  a  law  suit  as  to  the  value  of  the  Illinois 
Central  right  of  way  near  Congress  Street,  that  it  would  follow  that  the 
value  of  $3.00  a  square  foot  on  the  162  acres  is  a  very  modest  estimate  of 
value.  But  you  men  on  the  committee  know,  as  do  all  real  estate  men,  that 
there  are  differences  of  value  all  over  the  City  of  Chicago,  due  to  each  local 
condition,  and  nobody  would  assert  with  intelligence  that  the  value  of  the 
corner  of  Madison  and  State  Streets  would  be  a  comparative  measure  of 
value  on  the  corner  of  Kinzie  and  State  Streets.  The  fact  is  that  Madison 
and  State  Streets  is  worth  forty  times  as  much  as  Kinzie  and  State  Streets, 
and  the  distance  is  exactly  one-half  mile  between  the  two  points. 

In  my  opinion,  which  would  be  backed  up  by  every  real  estate  man  in 


259 

Chicago,  the  alleged  value,  in  a  law  suit,  of  $36.00  a  square  foot  at  Congress 
Street  would  have  no  bearing  on  the  values  at  Twenty-second,  Thirty-first, 
Thirty-ninth  and  Fifty-first  Streets,  positions  which  are  one,  two  and  three 
miles  away. 

Here,  it  seems  to  me,  comes  the  complete  answer.  The  Michigan  Cen- 
ti-al  owns  a  large  piece  of  property  north  of  South  "Water  Street  and  east 
of  Michigan  Avenue,  running  down  to  the  river.  Last  year  they  made  a 
lease  of  two  pieces  to  the  Goodrich  Steamboat  Company,  as  is  shown  by  the 
accompanying  plat.  For  the  part  south  of  the  road  used  as  a  street,  which 
would  be,  if  extended,  a  continuation  of  River  Street,  the  value  found  on  it 
is  $9  a  square  foot.  For  the  piece,  just  a  few  feet  away,  facing  on  the  river, 
on  which  is  located  the  sheds  of  the  steamboat  company,  the  value  is  $20.00 
a  square  foot,  and  both  are  used  by  the  same  company,  for  the  handling 
of  their  merchandise,  and  the  deals  on  both  pieces  were  made  on  the  same 
day.  So  that  you  will  readily  recognize  that  it  was  the  fact  of  the  river 
connection  that  gave  to  the  river  front  piece,  double  the  value  in  the  same 
deal. 

A.  M.  McKay. 

Sec.  Haerah  :  Here  is  a  communication  signed  by  Ralph  C. 
Otis,  addressed  to  the  committee  under  date  of  February  5,  as 
follows : 

WILLOUGHBY  &  COMPANY, 

Real  Estate, 

7  W.  Madison  Street. 

Chicago,  February  5,  1912. 

Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges,  Chicago. 

Gentlemen: — It  seems  unfortunate  that  a  property  owner  and  citizen 
must  always  be  on  his  guard  against  the  encroachments  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  in  some  form  or  other.  This  time,  in  the  ordinance  before 
your  honorable  body,  the  railroad  comes  to  us  under  cover  of  the  City 
Beautiful  and  the  Commercial  Club  and  all  of  this  so-called  "public-spirit- 
edness,"  and  it  is  too  bad  that  one  vitally  interested  cannot  speak  in  self 
defense  without  uncalled-for  criticism  by  these  business  men  who  are  doing 
so  much  for  this,  our  city. 

We  are  all,  property  owners  or  not,  interested  in  the  outer  park  and 
also  the  Field  Museum;  we  are  not  all  in  favor  of  giving  the  railroad  200 
feet  additional  right  of  way  to  be  used  as  freight  yards,  switching  purposes, 
or  as  the  railroad  sees  fit,  and  thereby  destroying  five  miles  of  property 
along  the  right  of  way.  The  property  is  already  damaged,  and  it  seems  a 
pity  that,  when  a  better  bargain  might  be  made,  this  one  should  be  allowed 
to  go  through,  practically  destroying  the  value  of  so  much  property  which 
was  purchased  in  good  faith. 

The  valuation  of  the  Real  Estate  Board  on  the  railroad  right  of  way 
is  absurd  on  the  face  of  it.  An  unobstructed  right  of  way  700  feet  wide 
extending  into  the  center  of  this  great  city  can  hardly  be  estimated.  The 
only  way  to  get  at  this  fact  is  to  find  out  through  the  books  of  the  Illinois 
Central  the  charge  made  to  other  railroads  using  the  said  right  of  way. 
Were  you  to  look  this  matter  up,  you  would  be  astounded  to  know  the  value 
placed  on  such  property  and  the  amount  of  bonds  it  will  carry  to  assist  in 
financing  their  projects. 

As  a  large  property  owner,  I  protest  against  the  haste  with  which  this 
most  vital  question  is  trying  to  be  settled  for  the  people.  Why  push  south 
the  present  condition  of  the  lake  front,  only  making  it  many  times  worse 
than  by  the  present  contract?  Does  any  one  cross  the  railroad  right  of 
way  down  town  at  the  present  time  to  the  outer  park?  No!  Will  they 
cross  at  Eighteenth  Street,  with  the  700  foot  right  of  way?  They  certainly 
will  not!  The  one  idea  seems  to  be  the  Field  Museum,  which  is  so  blinding 
some  men  that  they  are  unable  to  see  the  great  damage  they  are  doing  to 
others  and  the  city  at  large. 


260 

It  seems  reasonable  to  expect  at  least  that  the  city  could  well  afford  to 
take  the  time  to  work  out  the  ordinance  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad, 
and  not  damage  and  probably  ruin  four  miles  of  property  abutting  the 
railroad.  A  much  better  bargain  could  be  made  and  I  am  surprised  that 
experienced  business  men  would  allow  their  names  to  be  a  part  of  so  one- 
sided a  contract.  There  is  plenty  of  time  to  do  the  work  as  it  should  be 
done.  Let  the  Field  Museum  go  where  it  belongs,  in  Jackson  Park,  and 
make  the  Illinois  Central  depress  the  tracks  and  build  bridges,  thus  giving 
the  people  a  view  of  the  lake  which  is  their  right.  If  this  is  done,  so  that 
they  will  be  forever  out  of  sight  (which  I  am  sure  they  will  be  willing  to 
do  if  they  are  allowed  this  additional  right  of  way)  many  of  the  objections 
now  raised  will  be  withdrawn  and  those  who  are  opposed  to  the  proposition 
will  be  heartily  in  its  favor. 

Trusting  you  will  give  these  ideas  your  consideration,  I  am, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Ralph  C.  Otis. 

The  Chairman:  Mr.  Otis  is  here  and  I  believe  he  has  a 
word  to  say. 

Mr.  Otis  :  Mr.  Chairman,  Mr.  McKay,  on  last  Friday  made 
the  statement  that  the  corner  of  State  and  Madison  Streets 
earned  four  per  cent,  on  $400  a  square  foot.  Now,  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  Mr.  McKay  handles  business  property.  I  do  not  believe 
he  rents  office  buildings.  I  do  not  believe  he  knows  anything 
about  the  renting  of  office  buildings  and  the  land  upon  which  they 
stand.  The  corner  of  State  and  Madison  Streets  has  the  reputa- 
tion all  over  the  city  of  being  the  most  valuable  piece  of  property 
in  the  city.  That  may  be,  but  the  corner  of  State  and  Madison 
Streets,  figuring  interest  on  the  building  and  the  charges  against 
it,  does  not  earn  four  per  cent,  on  $200  a  square  foot,  and  I  can 
prove  it  because  I  handle  it  and  do  the  renting  myself,  and  all 
these  wild  statements  about  the  value  of  property  in  the  City  of 
Chicago  by  men  who  do  not  know  are  perfectly  absurd.  I  simply 
wanted  to  correct  the  statement  that  people  are  getting  for  some 
properties  fabulous  return  when  they  do  not. 

Sec.  Harrah  :     Here  is  a  communication  from  Mr.  Charles 

H.  Wacker,  addressed  to  the  chairman  under  date  of  February  5, 

as  follows,  and  there  is  attached  a  letter  addressed  to  Charles  H. 

Wacker,  dated  January  31,  from  the  Municipal  Voters  League, 

Lessing  Rosenthal,  president,  and  Kellogg  Fairbank,  secretary, 

as  follows: 

municipal  voters  league, 

556  Monadnock  Block, 

Chicago,  January  31,  1912. 
Charles  H.  Wacker,  Esq.,  134  South  La  Salle  Street. 

Dear  Sib: — Your  letter  of  yesterday  inquiring  whether  the  Municipal 
Voters  League  Is  opposed  to  the  ordinance  carrying  out  the  contract  be- 
tween the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  was  referred  to  the  Executive  Committee,  which  met  today,  and 
directed  the  following  reply: 

The  League  has  taken  no  position  either  for  or  against  the  ordinance, 
and  sees  no  reason  for  so  doing,  and  would  regret  to  have  any  aldermctn  in- 


261 

fluenced  other  than  hy  the  strict  merits  of  the  proposition.  The  opinions 
expressed  by  any  officer  or  member  of  the  League  are  simply  his  individual 
opinions,  and  are  not  to  be  considered  as  an  official  statement  of  the  League, 
which  speaks  only  through  the  action  of  its  Executive  Committee. 

By  order  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Municipal  Voters'  League. 

Lessing  Rosenthal,  President. 
Kellogg  Fairbank,  Secretary. 


CHARLES  H.  WACKER, 

206  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago. 
New  Number,  134  S.  La  Salle  St. 

Chicago,  February  5,  1912. 

Hon.  Harry  E.  Littler,  Chairman,  Committee    on    Harbors,  Wharves  and 
Bridges,  City  Hall,  Chicago. 

Dear  Sir: — I  enclose  a  copy  of  a  letter  which  I  addressed  to  the  Mu- 
nicipal Voters  League,  and  also  a  letter  in  answer  to  it.  They  explain 
themselves. 

You  would  confer  a  favor  upon  me  by  presenting  the  letter  received 
from  the  Municipal  Voters'  League  to  your  committee. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Charles  H.  Wackeb. 

Aid.  Emeeson  :  Mr.  Rosenthal  stated  before  tlie  committee 
that  he  represented  himself  individually  and  not  the  Municipal 
Voters  League. 

The  Chairman:    What  is  your  pleasure,  gentlemen? 

Sec.  Harrah  :  Mr.  Hyers  filed  a  petition  that  he  would  like 
to  have  read. 

(Sec.  Harrah  read  the  following:) 

"We,  the  undersigned  property  owners  and  citizens  of  Chicago,  hereby 
enter  our  protest  against  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago  ratifying 
a  proposed  agreement  between  the  Commissioners  of  the  South  Parks  of 
the  City  of  Chicago,  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  whereby 
the  I.  C.  R.  R.  Co.  are  to  receive  200  feet  additional  right  of  way  for  surface 
tracks  between  Twelfth  Street  and  Fifty-first  Street,  and  hope  the  City 
Council  will  not  pass  an  ordinance  endorsing  said  agreement  unless  it  be  so 
modified  as  to  put  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  Co.  in  a  subway." 

This  is  signed  by  Mr.  George  A.  Hyers  and  thirty-eight 
other  property  owners.  Attached  to  that  communication  under 
date  of  February  5,  is  the  following : 

Chicago,  February  5,  1912. 
To  the  Honorable  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 

Gentlemen: — Representing,  as  I  do,  thirty  or  more  property  owners 
on  Lake  Avenue,  owning  a  frontage  of  more  than  two  thousand  feet,  in 
protest,  and  also  representing  the  Ladies'  Club,  which  organized  two  years 
ago  to  do  away  with  smoke  and  grime  and  compel  all  railroads  to  electrify, 
I  have  attended  nearly  all  meetings  of  your  committee  and  listened  to  the 
various  arguments,  pro  and  con,  on  the  City  Beautiful  Plan,  and  what  are 
the  conclusions? 

1.  What  does  the  city  get?  A  site  for  the  Field  Museum  at  Twelfth 
street,  amidst  smoke  and  grime,  that  in  five  years  will  destroy  the  great 
curiosities  that  have  taken  years  of  patient  labor  and  expense  to  gather 


262 

together,  and  the  privilege  of  paying  in  land,  at  the  lowest  estimate  (that 
of  the  Real  Estate  Board),  $4,889,000  more  than  the  museum  building  would 
cost  to  build,  and  the  Jackson  Park  location  has  many  advantages  over 
Twelfth  Street,  as  it  is  near  the  great  Chicago  University  and  commemo- 
rates the  great  Columbian  Exposition,  and  is  free  from  smoke  and  grime, 
and  can  be  reached  for  a  5  cent  fare  by  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  in  eight  minutes, 
and  by  all  electric  lines  and  ci'osstown  cars.  If  we  are  to  have  all  the 
curiosities  in  Grant  Park  and  on  the  lake  front,  why  not  bring  the  Zoolog- 
ical Garden  from  Lincoln  Park  and  place  it  in  Grant  Park,  where  our 
country  cousins  might  visit  it  without  costing  us  car  fare  for  them? 

Let  the  contract  already  made  be  carried  out  and  build  the  museum  in 
Jackson  Park. 

2.  We  are  to  have  a  great  dam,  five  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  built 
from  1,200  to  1,500  feet  out  in  the  lake  from  the  shore  line,  from  Grant 
Park  to  Jackson  Park.  This  is  to  be  called  a  boulevard,  a  parkway,  a 
driveway,  or  something,  and  is  to  be  connected  to  the  streets  by  viaducts 
over  a  700  foot  lagoon,  and  from  Thirteenth  Street  to  Twenty-ninth  Street 
over  660  feet  of  right  of  way  of  I.  C.  R.  R.  tracks;  and  from  Twenty-ninth 
to  Fifty-first  Streets  over  450  feet  of  L  C.  R.  R.  tracks  and  700  feet  of_ 
lagoon;  and  each  fourth  of  a  mile  we  are  to  have  a  viaduct,  varying  from 
1,360  feet  to  Twenty-ninth  Street  to  1,150  feet  from  Twenty-ninth  to  Fifty- 
first  Streets,  besides  about  300  feet  of  street  approaches,  that  will  have 
to  be  condemned  and  paid  for.  There  will  be,  if  they  are  built  as  the  ordi- 
nance provides,  twenty-two  of  these  viaducts,  all  of  which  will  have  to  be 
traversed  to  reach  this  beauty  spot,  660  feet  of  which  to  Twenty-ninth  Street 
will  be  over  L  C.  R.  R.  switch  yards,  with  their  smoke  and  grime,  and  from 
Twenty-ninth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street  through  450  feet  of  the  same  thing. 

Who  would  use  such  a  City  Beautiful,  where  not  a  tree  or  shrub  would 
grow.  Look  at  Grant  Park  today,  150  acres  reclaimed  land,  and  not  a  tree 
or  bush  there,  a  veritable  desert. 

Then  they  are  going  to  take  our  beautiful  lake  away,  on  account  of 
which  most  of  us  bought  our  land  and  built  our  homes  and  buildings,  and 
give  us  instead  a  lagoon  or  pond,  fed  from  the  open  lake  by  two  or  three 
openings  through  this  great  dam,  which  in  two  or  three  years  will  become  a 
stagnant  pond  to  breed  mosquitoes  and  all  sorts  of  malarial  diseases. 

As  well  take  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  in  front  of  the  property  owners 
at  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  and  who  are  going  to  pay  for  these  twenty-two 
viaducts  and  approaches — the  people  whose  lake  they  are  going  to  destroy 
and  whose  beautiful  lake  they  have  had  their  homes  along  for  from  twenty 
to  fifty  years,  and  for  which  most  of  us  paid  more  for  our  land  to  be  near; 
and  then  ask  us  to  allow  us  to  have  our  property  assessed  to  help  destroy 
its  value. 

3.  They  tell  us  the  improvement  will  cost  us  nothing  and  they  can 
fill  in  this  great  dam  without  cost  to  the  people,  yet  any  of  us  who  know 
anything,  know  that  eleven  miles  of  wall  will  have  to  be  built  out  in  the' 
lake  to  retain  this  material,  and  so  strong  that  it  will  withstand  the  winter 
storms,  with  millions  of  tons  of  ice  for  a  battering  ram  and  the  waves  of 
Lake  Michigan  for  the  power;  and  then  the  twenty-two  viaducts  from  1,150 
to  1,360  feet  long,  with  300  feet  street  approaches,  to  be  condemned  and 
paid  for,  for  each  viaduct.  Fifty  million  dollars  would  probably  be  a  small 
estimate  of  its  actual  cost  to  the  people. 

The  writer  of  this  has  for  years  been  advocating  putting  the  L  C.  R.  R. 
in  a  subway  450  feet  wide  and  building  a  boulevard  over  their  right  of  way, 
and  connecting  all  the  small  parks,  and  all  the  streets  at  grade  to  this 
boulevard,  and  give  all  the  people  access  to  the  boulevard  and  lake,  and 
the  cost  would  be  nothing,  comparatively  speaking,  to  the  dam  scheme. 
And  if  they  want  a  pier  out  in  the  lake,  as  they  have  piers  at  Atlantic  City — 
out  into  the  ocean — let  them  build  them  at  Thirty-first  Street  or  any  other 
street,  and  as  many  islands  as  they  want,  but  let  our  lake  alone  in  its 
natural  beauty. 

Are  we  on  the  South  Side  suffering  for  parks?  These  men  who  are 
battling  the  hardest  for  this  improvement  are  people  from  the  North  Side, 


263 

who  know  nothing  of  our  small  parks.  We  have  from  Thirty-third  Street 
to  Fifty-first  Street,  Groveland,  Woodland,  Douglas  Monument,  Ellis  Park, 
Aldine  Square,  City  Park  at  Thirty-ninth  Street,  Madison  at  Fiftieth  Street, 
and  Drexel  Boulevard  from  Oakland  to  Fifty-first  Street  a  continuous  park, 
and  Grand  Boulevard  from  Thirty-fifth  Street  to  Fifty-first  Street  a  con- 
tinuous park,  and  Washington  Park,  Midway  and  Jackson  Park,  which  is 
by  far  the  finest  park  in  the  city,  and  a  place  of  all  others  better  suited 
to  be  the  home  of  the  Field  Museum. 

A  few  years  ago  one  of  our  neighbors,  with  the  assistance  of  a  few 
property  owners  on  Lake  Avenue,  had  a  statute  passed  at  Springfield  au- 
thorizing the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  open  a  boulevard  from  Twelfth 
Street  to  Fifty-first  Street,  keeping  along  the  lake  shore,  starting  at  Twelfth 
and  Indiana  Avenue  and  working  east  until  Lake  Park  Avenue  was  reached, 
then  South  on  Lake  Park  Avenue  to  Groveland  Park,  and  through  it.  Wood- 
land and  Douglas  Monument  Parks,  into  Lake  Avenue  at  Thirty-fifth  Street, 
and  thence  south  on  Lake  Avenue  to  Fifty-first  Street,  east  on  Fifty-first 
Street  to  East  End  Avenue,  and  south  to  Jackson  Park.  The  Park  Com- 
missioners claimed  they  had  not  the  means  to  maintain  another  boulevard 
and  declined  to  accept  this.  The  promoter  of  this  statute  has  since  died, 
but  the  law  has  never  been  repealed.  Why  don't  the  park  commissioners 
Investigate  this? 

Mr.  Charles  Wacker  says  we  are  going  to  have  2,000  acres  new  land 
made  in  the  lake — 100  acres  a  year — twenty  years  to  complete  this  beauty 
spot.  Most  of  us  will  be  gone  to  our  long  and  last  home  before  this  would 
be  completed.  The  project  is  almost  as  great  as  the  Panama  Canal,  and 
would  cost  too  much,  and  be  of  no  use  when  done,  as  who  would  want  to 
go  1,200  or  1,500  feet  across  a  shaky,  windy,  smoky  viaduct  to  get  to  a 
parkway  to  go  from  Grant  Park  to  Jackson  Park  unless  in  an  automobile? 

4.  We  have  no  quarrel  with  the  L  C.  R.  R.,  as  they  were  here  before 
we  came,  and  while  many  of  us  have  endured  their  smoke,  noise  and  soot 
even  with  stifling  yards  in  front  of  our  doors  (many  of  us  having  lived 
here  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  years),  we  feel  they  should  not  be  given  any 
more  surface  tracks  or  switch  yards  in  front  of  our  property. 

Mr.  Charles  Wacker,  to  the  Council  Committee,  said  the  property  along 
the  lake  from  Twelfth  to  Forty-seventh  Streets  was  of  little  value.  A  great 
amount  of  this  property  is  owned  for  homes  and  occupied  by  the  owners, 
who  cherish  them  as  sacred,  and  feel  they  have  as  much  right  to  be  pro- 
tected in  those  homes  as  these  promoters  who  live  in  palaces  on  the  North 
Side  have  to  protection  in  theirs,  and  to  some  of  our  people  this  little  home 
is  all  they  have,  and  why  should  it  all  be  further  polluted  by  giving  the  I. 
C.  R.  R.  more  than  again  as  much  right  of  way  as  they  now  possess  and 
for  what — as  I  have  shown — we  do  not  need  and  already  have  a  site,  viz., 
the  Field  Museum.  To  one  who  has  listened  to  all  debates,  the  L  C.  R.  R. 
are  getting  at  least  ten  million  dollars  the  best  of  this  deal,  and  the  people 
of  the  South  Side  are  getting  it  in  the  neck. 

I  have  said  we  had  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  here  before  we  came,  so  were  the 
American  Indians,  and  the  U.  S.  Government  drove  them  out.  Perhaps  if 
we  appeal  to  the  U.  S.  Government  we  may  drive  the  usurpers  of  our  rights 
out  also.  It  has  been  said  during  these  debates  that  the  city  has  power  to 
make  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  submerge  their  tracks  and  the  park  commissioners  the 
right  to  condemn  for  boulevard  purposes.  Tken  why  do  we  not  do  this, 
instead  of  sacrificing  our  manhood  to  a  soulless  corporation,  and  give  back 
to  the  people  their  lake  front,  unpolluted  by  smoke  and  grime,  or  else  let 
us  keep  what  we  now  have  and  rest  in  peace. 

Believing  the  Council  will  protect  the  interests  of  the  people  who  pay 
the  bill  in  preference  to  a  lot  of  promoters,  we  sign  ourselves, 

Lake  Avenue  Property  Owners. 

Aid.  Block  :    Have  you  any  figures  at  hand  showing  the  cost 
of  this  improvement? 


264 

The  Chairman:  No,  sir,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
estimate  the  cost. 

Aid.  Block  ;    Is  it  so  great  it  cannot  be  estimated? 

The  Chairman  :  You  know  what  the  cost  of  viaducts  would 
be. 

Aid.  Kun'z;  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  it  seems  to  me,  before 
we  proceed  with  the  consideration  of  this  ordinance,  we  should 
take  into  consultation  the  Corporation  Counsel.  I  believe  he 
ought  to  be  sent  for. 

The  Chairman  :  A  representative  of  the  Corporation  Coun- 
sel is  here. 

Aid.  KuNz:  I  would  like  to  ask  the  Corporation  Counsel 
if  it  would  not  be  possible  to  render  an  opinion  to  this  commit- 
tee. I  move  that  the  Corporation  Counsel  be  instructed  to  ren- 
der an  opinion  to  this  committee  as  to  the  riparian  rights. 

Aid.  Brennan  :  Aid.  Long  claims  he  cannot  do  that  on  ac- 
count of  this  law  suit. 

Aid.  KuNz:  He  can  give  us  an  opinion  as  far  as  he  could 
go.  You  don't  want  to  be  on  record  as  voting  for  something 
you  do  not  know  about. 

Aid.  Brennan:    No,  sir,  I  do  not. 

Aid.  KuNz:  Could  not  the  Corporation  Counsel  give  us 
some  idea  as  to  what  show  the  City  of  Chicago  has  with  refer- 
ence to  the  Illinois  Central.  If  the  Corporation  Counsel  says 
the  city  has  rights  we  should  know  what  they  are,  and  what 
rights  the  Illinois  Central  has. 

Aid.  Eyan  :  I  take  it  from  the  arguments  presented  by  Aid. 
Long  that  the  Corporation  Counsel  is  not  in  position,  because 
of  this  suit  that  has  been  filed,  to  give  an  opinion,  that  he  can 
only  render  one  opinion,  and  that  opinion  is  before  the  com- 
mittee. 

Aid.  KuNz:  That  the  opinion  would  be  that  the  city  has 
rights  there.  Why  should  the  members  of  this  committee  go 
against  that  opinion  and  take  upon  themselves  the  blame  of  do- 
ing something  that  the  Corporation  Counsel  advises,  them  not 
to  do? 

Aid.  Ryan:  The  City  of  Chicago  has  certain  rights  there 
according  to  a  statement  made  by  Aid.  Long,  but  not  sufficient 
to  be  of  any  particular  moment,  I  gather. 

Aid.  Hey  :  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  suit  was  started  upon 
the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel? 

Aid.  Long:  Every  member  of  the  Council  has  a  printed 
copy  of  the  report.  They  said  they  believed  it  was  a  proper  case 
for  litigation. 

Sec.  Harrah  :  Here  is  a  communication  from  Martin  Schutze, 
as  follows : 


265 

1375  E.  57th  St.,  Chicago,  February  3,  1912. 
Dr.  Willis  0.  Nance,  Alderman,  Sixth  Ward,  Chicago. 

My  Deab  Db.  Nance: — I  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  after  careful 
consideration,  that  the  agreement  regarding  the  South  Shore  Drive  now 
before  the  Council,  while  it  insures  certain  immediate  advantages  to  the 
city,  yet  would  prove  in  the  long  run  highly  unprofitable,  and  dangerous 
to  our  city,  and  I  request  you  to  cast  your  vote  against  it  and  do  what  you 
can  to  defeat  it. 

Let  me  say  at  the  start  that  I  have  no  intention  of  criticising  the  men 
who  negotiated  the  agreement  for  the  city  and  who  support  it  now.  I  linow 
several  of  them  personally  and  have  the  highest  regard  for  their  characters 
and  motives.  It  is  purely  the  objective  question  that  is  at  issue.  The  sup- 
porters of  the  agreement  say  that  the  drive,  the  location  of  the  Field  Mu- 
seum down  town,  and  other  improvements  involved  in  the  agreement,  are 
of  extreme  importance  for  the  growth  and  welfare  of  the  city,  and  I  agree 
with  them  heartily  and  enthusiastically.  But  I  draw  from  my  feeling  for 
the  welfare  of  our  city  conclusions  opposite  to  theirs.  It  is  a  fundamental 
principle,  without  which  government  becomes  a  farce,  that  no  private  in- 
terest has  any  standing  before  a  great  interest  of  public  welfare.  The  right 
of  condemnation  for  a  fair  consideration  is  at  the  heart  of  the  sovereignty 
of  any  community.  The  withholding  of  the  right  of  condemnation  from 
Chicago  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  is  such  an  enormity  that  once  the 
people  are  thoroughly  aroused  to  the  unrighteousness  of  it,  even  the  I.  C. 
R.  R.  lobby  will  be  unable  to  stop  the  granting  of  it  to  the  proper  park 
commission  of  Chicago. 

We  want  the  museum  down  town.  We  want  the  drive.  But  shall  we 
therefore  do  as  Esau  did?  Esau  also  wanted  his  mess  of  pottage,  he  wanted 
it  badly,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  delay,  and  he  sold  his  birthright.  Esau  has 
been,  throughout  our  modern  world  for  more  than  two  thousand  years,  the 
type  of  the  man  so  lacking  in  outlook  and  in  integrity  of  purpose  that 
an  urgent  present  need  makes  him  turn  from  the  greater  promise  of  the 
future. 

Our  birthright  is  the  right  of  condemnation,  the  right  as  well  as  the 
duty  to  teach  all  our  citizens,  including  the  I.  C.  R.  R.,  public  integrity 
and  a  large  patriotic  outlook.  If  we  sell  that  birthright  now  for  this  very 
selectable  mess  of  pottage  we  have  lost  our  future,  at  least  in  our  dealings 
with  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  We  know  enough  of  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  to  be  entirely 
certain  that  in  its  future  dealings  with  us,  it  will,  as  to  hard  greed  and 
unscrupulous  cunning,  make  Jacob  look  like  teacher's  pet  in  the  kinder- 
garten. We  shall  have  lost  our  lake  front  forever,  and  whenever  we  shall 
want  something  very  much  in  the  future  we  shall  have  taught  the  I.  C. 
R.  R.  how  to  make  us  bargain  for  it. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Mabtin  Schutze. 

S'ec.  Harrah  :    Here  is  a  communication  from  Isliam  Ran- 
dolph, under  date  of  January  25,  as  follows : 

ISHAM  RANDOLPH  &  CO., 
Consulting  Engineers, 

826  First  National  Bank  Bldg. 

Chicago,  January  25,  1912. 

The  Committee  on  Wharves,  Harbors  and  Bridges,  City  Council  of  Chicago, 
Illinois. 

Gentlemen: — As  a  question  of  law,  property  to  be  condemned  is  esti- 
mated at  its  highest  possible  use  to  the  owner,  not  what  it  may  be  worth 
to  the  condemning  power.  If  this  is  good  law,  then  how  would  it  be  possible 
for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  to  get  large  damages  from  the  State  or 
city  for  its  riparian  rights?    The  railroad  company  cannot  create  an  acre  of 


266 

ground  on  the  lake  side  of  its  right  of  way  line,  nor  can  any  purchaser  of 
its  rights  mal^e  them  available  without  enabling  legislation  by  the  State; 
and  even  that  action  must  be  subject  to  federal  restraint.  Where  then  is 
the  great  value  to  the  Illinois  Central  Company?  The  so-called  rights  of 
that  company  serve  to  cloud  the  title  to  the  submerged  lands  but  a  con- 
demnation under  legislative  authority  would  dissolve  that  cloud,  and  the 
company  would  be  no  worse  off  without  the  rights  than  it  is  today,  and  that 
principle  of  law  which  says  tJiat  the  oxvner  shall  he  no  ivorse  off  after  the  tak- 
ing of  his  property  than  he  ivas  before,  would  be  fully  satisfied.  The  cloud  has 
a  trading  value,  but  the  measure  of  that  value  should  he  the  cost  of  dissi- 
pating it. 

Chicago — not  the  South  Park  Commission — should  own  that  lake  front 
and  should  use  it  for  the  highest  use  to  which  it  can  be  put,  whether  that 
use  be  commercial  or  scenic  and  pleasurable.  Mayor  Harrison  is  quoted  as 
saying:  "This  is  not  a  dollars  and  cents  question.  It  is  a  question  of  giving 
a  breathing  spot  to  two  and  a  half  million  people.  Now  they  have  nothing 
but  the  back  yard  of  a  railroad  company  and  are  subject  to  being  charged 
with  trespassing  when  using  it." 

Is  the  whole  population  of  Chicago  pent  up  west  of  the  rails  which  bar 
access  to  the  lake  front  between  Park  Row  and  Fifty-first  Street?  What  has 
become  of  the  open  reaches  between  Fifty-first  Street  and  Jackson  Park? 
Has  Jackson  Park  become  a  factory  district?  What  has  become  of  the  open 
reaches  between  Jackson  Park  and  South  Chicago?  What  has  become  of 
Grant  Park?  Are  there  no  open  reaches  on  the  North  Side  south  of  Lincoln 
Park?  Has  Lincoln  Park  been  given  over  to  the  utilitarians  for  stock  yard 
purposes?  Of  the  twenty -two  miles  of  lake  front  is  it  true  that  all  that 
is  left  to  the  people  is  the  four  miles  between  Sixteenth  Street  and  Fifty-first 
Street?  How  many  of  the  two  and  one-half  million  people  of  Chicago  would 
ever  use  the  drive  and  parkway  between  Fifty-first  and  Sixteenth  Streets? 
What  percentage  of  this  population  owns  automobiles?  The  coach  of  the 
people  does  not  run  on  boulevards.  The  legend  "Pay  as  you  enter"  adorns  no 
vehicle  that  travels  the  roads  of  beauty  and  of  pleasure. 

Let  Chicago  secure  these  riparian  rights  at  their  value  to  the  Illinois 
Central  Railway,  and  in  the  meantime  decide  whether  the  city  cares  more 
for  beautiful  drives  than  it  does  for  lake  commerce. 

The  proposed  new  depot  of  the  Illinois  Central  is  a  project  which  the 
city  should  foster  and  aid;  for  improved  terminals  are  of  vast  importance 
to  the  attractiveness  and  prosperity  of  the  city,  and  certainly  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral terminals  ought  to  be  improved,  but  not  at  the  cost  of  any  vital  interest 
of  the  city  such  as  the  possession  and  use  of  its  lake  front. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

ISHAar   R.\ND0LPH. 

Sec.  Harrah  :     Here  is  a  comnmnication  from  G.  Fred  Kush, 
as  follows : 

RUSH  &  HOLDBN, 

Attorneys  at  Law, 

1110  Title  &  Trust  Bldg. 

Chicago,  February  1,  1912. 
Alderman  Willis  0.  Nance,  City  Hall,  Chicago. 

Deab  Sir:  In  reply  to  your  request  and  for  the  purpose  of  limiting  the 
use  of  the  Illinois  Central's  increased  holdings  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty- 
first  Streets  for  railroad  purposes  only,  so  as  to  prevent  the  use  of  the  land 
for  the  construction  of  warehouses,  freight  depots,  factories,  grain  elevators, 
flat  buildings,  hotels,  etc.,  and  to  prevent  the  land  from  being  used  for  car 
storage  tracks  or  for  general  switching  tracks,  or  for  freight  depots  or 
freight  yards,  or  for  car  repair  tracks,  or  for  round  house  yards;  that  is  to 
say,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  the  Illinois  Central  to  use  the  increased 
holdings  south  of  Thirty-first  Street  for  the  same  railroad  purposes  as  is 


267 

the  case  at  present,  I  suggest  the  following  new  wording  of  the  proviso  at 
the  end  of  the  second  paragraph  in  Section  9  of  said  proposed  ordinance. 

"Provided,  however,  that  subject  to  any  leases  in  force  Dec.  1,  1911,  if 
any  there  be,  all  submerged,  penetrating  and  made  lands  and  other  lands, 
lying  west  of  the  proposed  boundary  line  and  east  of  the  west  line  of  the 
present  two  hundred  (200)  foot  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets,  shall  not  be  used  fol 
tracks,  nor  for  general  switching  purposes,  nor  for  car  repair  tracks,  nor  fof 
freight  depots  or  yards,  nor  for  round  house  yards,  nor  for  any  railroad  pur- 
poses, other  than  for  freight  and  passenger  car  tracks,  emergency  switches 
and  turnouts  and  for  passenger  stations,  without  the  express  consent  of  the 
City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago." 

On  page  7  of  the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel,  dated  Jan.  16,  1912, 
It  seems  to  be  thought  that  under  Section  9  as  at  present  written,  the  com- 
pany is  limited  to  use  the  land  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets 
"only  for  tracks,  switches,  turnouts  and  passenger  stations." 

It  is  doubtful  whether  Section  9  as  it  reads  at  present  does  limit  the 
use  of  the  land  for  "railroad  purposes"  only,  and  it  is  doubtful  also  whether 
the  company  is  prohibited  from  using  the  land  to  construct  warehouses, 
freight  depots,  factories,  grain  elevators,  flat  buildings,  hotels  or  other  build- 
ings for  general  commercial  purposes.  I  find  no  restriction  in  Section  9 
limiting  the  use  of  the  land  for  railroad  purposes  only.  The  city  "consents 
to  the  use"  of  the  new  land  "for  railroad  purposes." 

I  have  given  the  matter  a  very  hasty  consideration  because  of  very 
pressing  business  engagements,  but  I  think  you  will  find  from  a  careful  read- 
ing of  Section  9  in  question  that  the  road  is  not  limited  to  use  the  new  and 
old  land  in  question  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets  for  railroad 
purposes  only,  but  is  simply  limited  not  to  use  the  land  "for  any  railroad 
purposes,  other  than  tracks,  switches,  turnouts  and  passenger  stations." 
And  the  present  language  will  permit  a  switching  yard  unless  changed. 

Yours  truly, 

G.  Feed  Rush. 

Aid.  Long  :  Mr.  Chairman,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Commit- 
tee, I  deem  it  only  proper  at  this  time  that  I  should  make  a  few 
remarks  giving  you  in  a  brief  way  my  understanding  of  the  sit- 
uation of  this  matter  from  its  inception  to  the  present  time.  I 
will  endeavor  to  be  brief. 

I  think  possibly  I  ought  to  say  that  I  probably  have  been 
more  closely  identified  with  this  matter  than  any  other  member 
of  the  City  Council,  and  I  have  acquired  by  reason  of  that  identi- 
fication some  facts  and  interesting  data  that  I  can  only  convey  to 
you  by  a  brief  statement. 

First,  I  wish  to  express  my  appreciation  and  commendation 
of  the  almost  universal  good  will  that  has  characterized  this 
hearing  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  the  committee  and  those 
who  have  had  the  patience  to  present  the  matter  to  us.  Indeed, 
it  has  been  rather  surprising  to  me  that  there  has  not  been  more 
expression  of  feeling,  because  a  matter  of  such  great  importance, 
involving  such  a  variety  of  issues  and  interests,  would  naturally 
tend  to  create  more  or  less  feeling  in  the  minds  of  people  and  a 
serious  difference  of  opinion.  So  far  as  I  am  personally  con- 
cerned, I  wish  to  say  at  this  time  that  I  am  very  glad  indeed 
that  I  do  not  entertain  the  least  feeling  against  anyone,  and  it  is 


268 

indeed  complimentary  to  the  committee  and  to  those  who  have 
appeared  here  at  this  time  that  the  hearing  has  been  conducted 
with  such  universal  good  feeling. 

I  am  reminded  at  this  time  of  an  expression  that  a  great 
essayist,  Lord  Macauley,  once  made  use  of  in  one  of  his  essays. 
As  I  recollect  it,  he  said  that  it  is  a  great  deal  easier  to  organize 
a  successful  opposition  than  to  run  a  government,  and  that  is  to  a 
certain  extent  true  in  every  great  constructive  measure.  It  is 
easier  to  organize  an  opposition,  to  formulate  serious  obstruc- 
tions than  it  is  to  carry  through  successfully  a  constructive  meas- 
ure, because  every  constructive  measure  necessarily  antagonizes 
the  ideas  of  many  people  who  get  together  for  the  purpose  of 
obstructing  the  proper  execution  of  that  constructive  measure.  In 
saying  this,  I  do  not  mean  that  honest  criticism  is  not  a  good 
thing.  Criticism  always  brings  out  the  facts,  and  no  one  can 
go  further  than  I  would  go  in  my  appreciation  of  the  splendid 
presentation  of  the  case  that  has  been  made  by  Mr.  Rosenthal 
and  Mr.  Morton  D.  Hull,  the  gentlemen  who  have  opposed  this 
measure.  I  believe  that  they  are  inspired  by  the  highest  motives 
of  citizenship  and  by  a  desire  only  to  give  this  committee  their 
best  opinion  in  their  position.  I  cannot  entirely  agree  with 
some  of  the  remarks  that  have  been  made  by  them,  neither  can 
I  entirely  agree  with  some  of  the  remarks  made  by  the  learned 
gentlemen  who  presented  the  arguments  on  the  other  side.  I 
have  in  mind  especially  the  remarks  of  one  eminent  citizen  who 
unfortunately  used  the  remark  that  the  aldermen  who  voted 
against  this  measure  would  be  consigned  to  the  uttermost  depths 
of  hell,  because,  I  believe,  that,  whether  the  aldermen  vote  this 
ordinance  up  or  down,  the  alderman  will  be  judged  in  his  vote, 
not  by  what  somebody  may  think  of  this  measure,  but  by  what 
the  measure  in  itself  is  on  its  merits.  In  other  words,  we  must 
judge  in  our  final  adjudication  of  this  matter  not  by  the  preju- 
dices expressed  here  on  one  side  or  the  other,  but  by  the  actual 
merits  of  this  measure.  I  propose,  therefore,  to  address  myself 
briefly  to  the  merits  of  the  measure  as  a  constructive  proposition 
for  this  city  to  consider  at  this  time. 

My  interest  was  first  attracted  to  the  lake  shore,  as  some 
of  you  gentlemen  know,  after  I  came  into  the  City  Council 
more  than  two  years  ago.  Some  of  you  who  served  upon  the 
License  Committee  will  recall  the  fact  that  our  committee  was 
invited  to  consider  an  application  which  had  been  made  by  a  cer- 
tain syndicate  for  the  establishment  of  a  bathing  beach  at  Man- 
hattan Pier  or  Manhattan  Beach  on  the  South  Side. 

The  committee  went  out  to  this  beach  en  masse.  We  were 
there  met  by  the  aldermen  from  that  ward  and  a  large  delega- 
tion of  citizens.     The  result  of  that  meeting  was  an  ordinance 


269 

which  prohibited  the  installation  of  bathing  beaches  except  upon 
a  petition  containing  a  majority  of  the  frontage  of  persons  in- 
terested in  the  immediate  neighborhood.  That  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  ordinance  that  refers  to  bathing  beaches.  While  that 
ordinance  had  for  its  purpose  the  prevention  of  the  establish- 
ment of  an  amusement  pier  at  Manhattan  Beach,  it  suggested 
to  several  of  us  upon  that  committee  that  there  ought  to  be 
something  done  to  provide  for  bathing  beaches  on  the  lake  shore. 
Up  to  that  time  the  city  had  made  little  progress  in  the  installa- 
tion of  bathing  beaches.  It  had  one  little  beach  at  Twenty-fifth 
Street  and  one  at  Seventy-ninth  Street,  the  one  at  Twenty-fifth 
Street  being  on  leased  ground  and  the  one  at  Seventy-ninth 
Street  being  on  ground  owned  by  the  city.  Consequently  an  or- 
der was  reported  into  the  City  Council  providing  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  on  bathing  beaches  and  amusement  piers 
along  the  lake  shore.  We  made  a  detailed  study  of  the  shore 
from  the  Saddle  and  Cycle  Club  on  the  North  Side  to  Seventy- 
ninth  Street  on  the  South  Side,  and  we  reported  a  comprehensive 
scheme  for  the  improvement  of  the  lake  shore  with  reference  to 
bathing  beaches,  providing  for  seven  beaches  in  all,  beginning  at 
Montrose  Avenue,  on  the  north  end,  and  ending  at  Seventy-ninth 
Street,  at  the  Illinois  Steel  Company  on  the  South  Side,  and  in 
the  investigation  and  study  of  this  question  it  developed  to  a 
few  of  us  upon  that  committee  that  the  great  drawback  and 
great  difficulty  to  any  substantial  progress  on  the  lake  shore  lay 
in  the  fact  that  the  lake  shore  was  in  the  possession  of  private 
parties  and  the  city  could  only  acquire  possession  by  lease  or 
sufferance,  and  there  was  no  power  in  the  city  to  get  possession 
except  by  purchase,  and  no  funds  for  that  purpose;  so  it  was 
deemed  desirable  to  go  a  step  further.  The  result  was  an  order 
prepared  by  me  and  introduced  into  the  City  Council  a  few  weeks 
later,  providing  for  the  appointment  of  the  Lake  Shore  Reclama- 
tion Commission  with  power  to  investigate  the  titles  on  the  lake 
shore  and  institute  legal  proceedings  for  their  reclamation.  This 
commission  proceeded  with  its  work  with  a  meager  appropria- 
tion, and  after  a  thorough  investigation  on  the  part  of  the  Cor- 
poration Counsel's  office,  covering  the  entire  lake  shore  from 
Twelfth  Street  to  Jackson  Park,  the  part  of  the  lake  shore  now 
in  controversy,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  bring  suit.  We  found 
that  the  entire  lake  shore  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Fifty-first 
Street  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Illinois  Central  except  about 
400  feet  at  Twenty-ninth  Street,  which  was  in  the  possession  of 
the  Walker  Estate,  or  the  Stephen  A.  Douglas  heirs.  The  bal- 
ance of  the  lake  shore  from  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  to  Jackson 
Park  was  in  the  possession  of  six  other  claimants — the  Beach 
Hotel,  the  Pullman  Estate,  Jones  et  al.,  Brega  et  al.,  the  Shedds, 


270 

and  the  Lehmann  Estate.  After  a  careful  investigation  we 
filed  seven  suits  in  chancery  or  seven  bills  in  equity  against 
these  seven  claimants,  feeling  that  we  had  a  reasonable  ground 
for  the  maintenance  of  our  suits.  The  case  against  the  Illinois 
Central  involves  the  largest  amount  of  property,  about  20  acres, 
and  the  largest  amount  of  riparian  ownership,  about  four  and  a 
half  miles.  We  found  that  our  case  against  the  Illinois  Central 
was  not  so  well  supported  by  the  facts  as  were  our  cases  against 
the  other  parties ;  that  is,  we  felt  there  was  a  sufficient  basis  to 
bring  suit,  but  we  never  felt  as  sure  of  our  ground  as  we  did  in 
the  other  cases,  consequently  the  Illinois  Central  case  was  not 
pushed  as  vigorously,  hoping  that  by  delaying  the  time  of  trial 
we  could  acquire  more  data,  more  facts,  and  possibly  put  our- 
selves in  a  position  to  make  a  better  showing  when  the  matter 
came  on  for  final  trial.  The  other  cases  went  to  issue  within  a 
short  time,  and  in  nearly  every  one  of  these  cases,  there  was 
a  proposition  made  to  us  to  compromise.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
go  into  these  other  cases ;  they  are  not  involved  in  this  matter 
except  as  a  matter  of  history.  They  are  now  in  a  position  where 
propositions  have  been  made  to  us  on  a  basis  of  a  division  of  the 
made  land  between  the  claimants  and  the  State. 

The  Illinois  Central  demurred  to  the  bill  and  I  want  to  say 
that  personally  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  conduct  of  the  legal' 
proceedings.  This  was  a  matter  entirely  in  charge  of  the  Cor- 
poration Counsel.  I  directed  myself  to  the  administrative  side 
of  the  proceedings,  as  chairman  of  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation 
Commission,  and  I  assume  no  responsibility  for  the  legal  situa- 
tion or  pleadings,  that  being  a  matter  as  I  said  before  wholly 
within  the  hands  of  the  Corporation  Counsel.  The  bill  was  de- 
murred to  and  the  demurrers  sustained,  and  we  found  there 
was  some  serious  doubt  as  to  whether  we  could  make  out  a  case 
that  would  stand  in  court.  I  am  talking  now  plainly  because  I 
think  you  are  entitled  to  know  the  facts.  We  immediately  went 
to  work  with  our  expert  and  had  a  survey  of  the  entire  lake  shore 
made  in  the  hope  that  we  might  find  something  to  stand  on — 
something  somewhere  along  this  four  and  a  half  miles.  We 
gathered  aU  the  data  we  could  find.  We  had  a  complete  map 
made  of  the  shore  line,  showing  the  various  holdings  at  the  time, 
and  an  abstract  made  of  the  title  claimed  by  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company,  showing  that  they  owned  the  fee  to  a  large 
portion  of  the  shore.  The  bill  was  subsequently  amended,  was 
it  not,  Mr.  Skinner? 

Mr.  Skinner  :  The  demurrer  was  sustained  on  the  ground 
that  there  was  no  specific  tract  specified,  no  metes  or  bounds, 
and  that  it  was  necessarv  to  have  an  abstract  in  order  to  deter- 


271 

mine  and  locate  those  tracts,  but  the  amendment  has  not  been 
prepared  yet. 

Aid.  Long  :  Then  it  is  in  process  of  preparation.  So,  as  the 
matter  now  stands,  the  city  must  either  amend  its  bill — so  as  to 
make  out  a  case,  at  least  a  prima  facie  case,  or  be  out  of  court. 
Now  as  to  whether  we  can  present  a  bill  that  will  stand  the  test, 
and  as  to  whether  we  can  win  out  after  we  present  a  good  bill,  are 
questions  of  course  that  I  cannot  assume  to  answer.  You  gen- 
tlemen know  as  well  as  I  do  the  uncertainty  of  a  law  suit.  If  we 
are  forced  to  try  it,  we  will  make  the  best  fight  we  can,  and  if  we 
are  defeated  in  court  we  will  have  to  take  our  medicine.  We 
have  always  hoped  that  we  would  find  some  means  to  win  out. 
I  want  to  say  frankly  to  you  that  there  is  always  a  large  element 
of  doubt  in  a  proposition  of  this  kind,  and  that  is  one  of  the  rea- 
sons that  led  me  to  believe  that  a  good  compromise  would  be  a 
wise  thing  to  make.  Gentlemen,  I  practiced  law  more  than  twen- 
ty years — I  am  not  practicing  now — and  I  have  always  found  it  a 
good  thing  to  advise  my  client  in  a  doubtful  case  to  make  the  best 
settlement  possible.  I  believe  that  has  been  the  policy  of  the 
most  successful  lawyers  at  the  bar.  Where  you  have  a  question- 
able case,  that  you  are  not  absolutely  certain  about,  it  is  the  wise 
thing  to  make  the  best  possible  settlement.  I  went  into  this 
proposition  with  that  idea  in  view.  My  idea  was  that  if  we  could 
make  a  good  fair  settlement,  it  would  be  infinitely  better  than  to 
try  to  win  a  long  uncertain  law  suit  that  might  eventually  lead 
nowhere. 

I  realize  that  the  city  has  no  right  to  condemn  these  lands  for 
park  purposes — no  right  to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain 
to  acquire  the  riparian  rights,  and  that  the  Park  Board  has  no 
power  to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain  for  any  such  pur- 
pose, and  consequently  when  the  proposed  settlement  was  first 
suggested  to  me  by  Judge  Payne,  some  months  ago,  I  naturally 
favored  it  as  the  most  rational  thing  to  do,  under  the  circum- 
stances. I  said  to  him  then :  ' '  Judge  Payne,  I  think  it  is  a  fine 
thing. ' '  He  asked  me  what  I  thought  about  the  granting  or  the 
conceding  to  the  Illinois  Central  an  additional  strip  of  land. 
My  reply  was  that  I  did  not  regard  the  land  as  the  essential 
thing,  what  we  wanted  most  was  the  riparian  rights  and  the  right 
to  make  land,  that  if  we  once  had  the  riparian  rights,  we  could 
make  all  the  land  the  city  wanted,  and  therefore  I  would  not 
stand  on  a  question  of  150  or  200  feet  or  300  feet  personally,  if 
it  was  required  in  the  adjustment  of  this  matter.  I  realized 
that,  under  the  present  conditions,  the  waste  of  the  city  amounts 
to  about  twenty-two  acres  of  made  land  a  year  in  fourteen  feet 
of  water,  seven  feet  above  the  surface, — so  the  engineers  tell  me 
— that  we  would  be  exercising  an  economy  that  in  effect  would 


272 

result  in  giving  us  the  beautiful  lake  front,  and  giving  us  what 
we  have  been  struggling  for  for  the  last  twenty  years. 

Now  understand,  gentlemen,  I  do  not  want  to  be  put  in  the 
position  of  saying  that  this  is  the  best  thing  to  do  if  we  had  the 
power  to  condemn  these  riparian  rights,  but  I  believe,  under  all 
the  circumstances,  with  our  rights  limited  as  they  are,  it  is  a  good 
compromise  and  on  the  whole  the  very  best  thing  the  city  can 
do  at  this  time. 

My  attention  was  next  called  to  this  subject  a  little  later 
when  Judge  Payne  notified  me  that  he  would  like  to  have  a  con- 
ference in  the  Mayor's  office.  There  were  certain  conditions  that 
I  wished  to  have  imposed  at  that  time.  Just  before  I  touch  upon 
that,  however,  I  want  to  say  briefly,  as  a  matter  of  history,  that 
the  Act  authorizing  the  Illinois  Central  to  lay  its  tracks  on  the 
lake  shore  was  passed  in  1851,  The  City  Council  passed  an  ordi- 
nance in  1852  giving  the  Illinois  Central  the  right  to  a  right  of 
way  200  feet  wide  on  its  present  trackage.  At  that  time  you  will 
understand  the  Illinois  Central  had  nothing  but  an  easement,  or 
right  of  way,  and  had  it  not  acquired  any  further  rights  than 
that,  there  would  have  been  no  question  about  the  riparian  rights 
today,  but  the  Illinois  Central,  like  any  well  regulated  organiza- 
tion, eager  to  protect  its  interests,  quietly  during  the  last  fifty 
years,  went  along  the  lake  shore  from  Twelfth  to  Fifty-first 
Street  and  bought  up  by  private  contract,  receiving  deeds  for 
every  piece  of  land  from  Twelfth  to  Fifty-first  Street  except  the 
one  single  piece  of  land  owned  by  the  Stephen  A.  Douglas  heirs, 
known  as  the  Walker  tract,  so  that  the  Illinois  Central  today 
has  or  claims  to  own  the  fee  and  not  the  mere  right  of  way,  and 
the  fee  carries  with  it  riparian  ownership.  How  far  trespass 
may  effect  title  is  a  question.  Some  will  argue  that  because  the 
land  was  filled  in  wrongfully  in  some  places,  that  therefore 
the  trespasser  has  forfeited  its  riparian  rights.  Some  cases  hold 
that  wrongfully  filling  makes  a  forfeiture  of  the  claimant's  ri- 
parian rights.  But  whatever  those  rights  are,  they  are  uncertain 
and  indefinite,  and  I  want  to  impress  upon  you,  gentlemen,  that  it 
is  because  of  that  uncertainty  and  indefinite  condition,  that  we 
are  here  with  this  proposition  of  settlement. 

When  I  was  called  into  conference  in  this  matter,  I  said  to 
Judge  Payne,  representing  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  that 
the  city  has  certain  things  which  it  must  demand  as  conditions 
precedent  in  this  settlement.  If  those  things  are  taken  care  of, 
I  believe  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  speaking  for  the  Lake  Shore 
Reclamation  Commission,  I  would  favor  it,  and  the  things  which 
said  commission  demanded  are  the  following: 

1.     The  right  of  the  city  to  locate  a  harbor  between  Twenty- 


273 

second  and  Sixteenth  Streets  on  the  submerged  lands  adjacent 
to  the  proposed  made  lands  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners. 

2.  The  right  reserved  to  the  city  of  adequate  access  to  said 
harbor  by  viaducts  for  street  and  railway  purposes  across  the 
lands  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  between  Sixteenth  Street  and  Twenty- 
second  Street  and  also  at  Forty-first  Street. 

3.  Eight  of  way  reserved  to  the  city  for  railroad  tracks 
from  Forty-first  Street  north  to  Sixteenth  Street  east  'of  the 
lands  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

4.  The  right  granted  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany to  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  or  to  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago, to  extend  South  Park  Boulevard  across  the  railroad  tracks 
and  railroad  lands  at  Twenty-second  Street  in  an  easterly  or 
northerly  direction  by  a  viaduct  the  full  width  of  said  boulevard, 
so  as  to  connect  with  the  park  lands  east  of  the  lands  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company. 

5.  A  limitation  upon  all  submerged,  made  and  other  lands 
lying  west  of  the  proposed  boundary  line  between  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners, 
and  east  of  the  west  line  of  the  present  200-foot  right  of  way 
of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty- 
first  Streets,  restricting  the  use  of  said  lands  to  tracks,  switches, 
turn-outs  and  passenger  stations  only,  unless  otherwise  auth- 
orized by  express  consent  of  the  City  Council. 

6.  The  obligation  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  in- 
stall and  maintain  in  perpetuity  two  public  bathing  beaches  be- 
tween Twenty-second  Street  and  Jackson  Park  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan. 

7.  The  obligation  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  in- 
stall and  maintain  a  public  pier  for  passengers  and  excursion 
boats  at  or  near  Twenty-second  Street. 

Now  those  are  the  things  we  demanded  for  the  city.  Those 
were  the  things  that  we  were  organized  to  accomplish.  That 
is  what  our  commission  wished  to  do — to  get  possession  of  the 
lake  shore  for  the  purpose  of  bathing  beaches  and  play  grounds, 
and  I  felt  that  if  we  succeeded  in  establishing  two  bathing 
beaches  on  the  South  Side  like  the  one  at  Lincoln  Park  and 
Diversey  Boulevard,  with  a  beautiful  pier  for  recreation  pur- 
poses and  excursion  boats,  and  accomplished  the  extension  of 
South  Park  Boulevard  across  the  tracks  into  Grant  Park,  that 
we  had  attained  the  essential  things  that  our  commission  was 
organized  to  accomplish. 

At  that  time  there  was  nothing  said,  as  I  recall  it,  about 
any  restriction  on  the  use  of  the  lands  of  the  Illinois  Central. 
It  did  not  occur  to  me  at  that  time,  but  at  a  subsequent  meeting 


274 

when  this  matter  was  further  under  consideration  I  suggested 
the  further  concession,  namely  a  restriction  on  the  use  of  the 
lands  to  be  acquired  by  the  Illinois  Central,  because  under  the 
Act  of  1907  the  title  that  would  pass  to  the  Illinois  Central  under 
the  proffered  agreement  was  a  fee  absolute  and  indefeasible,  a 
title  different  from  any  that  the  company  had  acquired  as  a  rail- 
road in  acquiring  its  right  of  way,  a  title  specially  provided  for 
under  the  Act  of  1907.  Mr.  Littler  and  I  both  referred  to  this,  and 
insisted  that  the  Illinois  Central  must  be  restricted  in  the  use 
of  its  lands.  We  sat  down  around  a  table:  Mr.  Blewett  Lee, 
the  attorney  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  Mr.  Maclay  Hoyne, 
the  attorney  for  the  city,  Mr.  Robert  Redfield,  the  attorney  for 
the  South  Park  Board,  Mr.  Littler,  the  chairman  of  this  com- 
mittee, with  a  view  of  drawing  up  an  ordinance  so  as  to  pro- 
vide a  proper  restriction  as  demanded  by  us.  Mr.  Lee  stated 
that  in  his  opinion  there  was  no  use  in  insisting  upon  any  such 
restriction  because  his  client  did  not  intend  to  use  the  submerged 
land  for  anything  except  railroad  purposes ;  that  its  plan  would 
be,  in  the  event  of  a  settlement,  to  move  its  present  tracks  over 
to  the  east  side  and  use  the  present  right  of  way  for  such  rail- 
road improvements  as  were  contemplated.  Not  until  then  did  it 
occur  to  me  that  it  was  necessary  to  restrict  the  use  of  the  pres- 
ent right  of  way.  I  spoke  to  Mr.  Littler  about  it  and  said  to 
Mr.  Lee, ' '  I  think  under  the  circumstances  this  restriction  should 
cover  the  present  right  of  way  as  well  as  the  lands  to  be  acquired. ' ' 
Mr.  Lee  was  not  agreeable  to  my  suggestion  and  the  conference 
practically  terminated  at  that  point. 

The  ordinance  was  prepared ;  it  was  late  in  the  evening  of 
December  18, 1911,  and  it  was  suggested  that  it  be  brought  down 
and  presented  to  the  committee.  The  committee  was  in  session 
and  had  been  in  session  that  afternoon  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering the  ordinance.  Mr.  Littler  and  I  both  thought  it  was  an 
ill-advised  thing  to  present  the  ordinance  to  you  at  that  time, 
but  as  a  matter  of  courtesy  to  others  we  presented  it,  and  you 
know  what  followed;  so  the  ordinance  has  been  under  discus- 
sion in  this  committee  ever  since.  When  it  came  up  for  con- 
sideration at  a  later  meeting  of  the  committee  December  23, 
1911,  it  was  referred  back  to  the  Corporation  Counsel  for  revision, 
and  in  this  revision  a  number  of  changes  were  made  for  the  bet- 
ter; one  especially  was  the  one  I  have  just  spoken  of  in  the 
original  ordinance.  The  original  ordinance  was  not  prepared 
so  as  to  cover  any  restriction  as  to  the  use  of  the  present  right 
of  way.  My  idea  was  at  that  time,  that  if  the  ordinance  went 
into  the  Council  as  originally  presented,  it  could  be  there 
amended,  but  I  think  it  is  a  great  deal  better  that  the  amend- 
ments have  been  made  insofar  as  they  could  be  made,  in  the 


275 

preparation  of  what  is  known  as  the  new  ordinance,  or  the  ordi- 
nance submitted  with  the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel. ' 

Now  as  to  the  recommendation  of  any  ordinance  at  this  time : 
A  great  deal  has  been  said  about  the  price  of  the  land  and  the 
value  of  the  land,  and  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  calculations 
have  been  gone  into  for  the  purpose  of  showing  us  on  the  one 
hand  that  the  Illinois  Central  was  getting  a  tremendous  bargain 
and  on  the  other  hand  that  they  were  not  getting  very  much  of 
value.  Prom  my  standpoint  the  question  of  land  values  never 
seemed  to  me  as  being  the  essential  element  in  the  case,  the  real 
desideratum  being  the  proposition  as  a  whole,  and  the  oppor- 
tunity it  gave  to  the  city  to  adjust  a  very  troublesome  prob- 
lem. Mayor  Harrison,  as  Mayor,  and  Mr.  Sexton,  as  Corpora- 
tion Counsel,  will  be  succeeded  by  others  less  enthusiastic  in  their 
desire  to  acquire  the  lake  front.  Political  administrations  change 
every  few  years  and  unless  we  get  substantial  results  in  the  ad- 
justment of  this  shore  matter  during  the  present  administration, 
we  have  no  assurance  that  we  will  ever  get  them  at  all.  You 
gentlemen  know  the  experience  we  have  had  with  litigation  in  im- 
portant matters  of  this  kind.  While  this  administration  may  be 
eager  and  desirous  of  accomplishing  results,  and  desirous  of 
carrying  this  litigation  through  to  a  conclusion,  the  next  admin- 
istration may  not  feel  disposed  to  do  so,  may  not  give  it  that  en- 
thusiastic support  that  we  are  giving  it  today,  and  then,  too, 
there  is  always  the  element  of  uncertainty.  The  Illinois  Central, 
as  a  well  organized  corporation,  never  sleeps.  Its  legal  depart- 
ment is  on  the  alert  day  and  night,  week  in  and  week  out,  but  the 
city's  interests  pass  into  the  hands  of  strangers;  new  men  must 
be  broken  in.  I  do  not  expect  to  continue  in  this  work  all  of  my 
lifetime;  neither  can  we  expect  Mr.  Sexton,  the  Corporation 
Counsel,  to  do  so,  and  we  do  not  know  how  soon  political  changes 
may  render  nugatory  a  large  part  of  our  work.  In  view  of  these 
uncertainties,  the  uncertainty  of  political  administration,  the  un- 
certainty of  following  up  a  long  series  of  litigations,  because  we 
know  that  if  we  win  in  the  courts  below  it  is  only  the  beginning  of 
an  eight  or  ten  years '  legal  fight,  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the 
matter  is  much  to  be  preferred.  An  adjustment  on  a  fair  basis  is 
better  for  the  present  generation,  better  for  the  aldermen  and 
better  for  the  people  as  a  whole. 

Just  a  word  further  on  the  question  of  the  ordinance :  I  be- 
lieve the  thing  for  this  committee  to  do  is  to'  report  out  such 
an  ordinance  as  they  think  right.  If  the  proposed  ordinance 
is  not  right,  let  us  make  one  that  is  right. 

A  good  deal  has  been  said  here  by  my  friend  Mr.  Rosenthal 
about  depressing  these  tracks.  I  have  taken  the  view  of  an 
engineer  upon  that  matter,  and  he  advises  me  that  the  tracks  can 


276 

be  depressed  seven  feet  without  any  serious  engineering  diffi- 
culty. At  Thirty-first  Street  the  elevation  of  the  present  street 
is  about  eight  feet  above  the  Illinois  Central  tracks.  Seven  feet 
added  to  that  would  give  us  fifteen  feet  depression.  Our  via- 
ducts provide  for  nineteen  feet  in  the  clear  which  would  leave  a 
rise  of  about  four  feet  at  Thirty-first  Street,  and  nobody  could 
take  any  exception  to  that,  and  I  believe  the  thing  for  this  com- 
mittee to  do  is  to  report  out  an  ordinance,  and  if  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral does  not  accept  it,  they  must  take  their  medicine  and  we  must 
fight  it  out  the  best  way  we  can,  but  let  us  do  something  now. 
Let  us  not  delay  the  proposition.  Let  us  not  dodge  it  or  duck 
it  by  calling  for  an  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel.  That 
means  running  away  from  the  proposition  before  us.  Let  us  dis- 
pose of  it  now,  and  do  it  right  if  we  believe  it  is  right.  If  we 
can  depress  the  tracks  seven  feet  let  us  depress  them  between 
Thirty-first  and  Forty-eighth,  and  at  the  same  time  if  we  think 
the  Illinois  Central  is  getting  too  much  land  between  Thirty -first 
and  Forty-eighth,  let  us  reduce  the  amount.  There  will  be  no 
criticism  upon  us  for  that,  whether  the  Illinois  Central  accepts 
our  proposition  or  turns  it  down.  I  do  not  believe  that  Mr. 
Eosenthal  or  any  of  the  gentlemen  he  represents  would  raise  any 
exception  at  all  to  such  an  ordinance.  I  do  not  believe  the  people 
of  Hyde  Park  would  raise  any  exception  if  we  depress  the  tracks 
seven  feet  and  cut  off  50  or  75  or  100  feet  from  the  proposed  grant 
of  submerged  lands  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first,  because 
if  you  do  that,  it  eliminates  absolutely  the  possibility  of  ever  es- 
tablishing any  great  freight  yard  in  that  section  of  the  city,  and 
there  can  be  no  sane  objection,  no  reasonable  objection  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  freight  yard  north  of  Thirty-first  or  Twenty- 
ninth,  because  that  is  in  the  business  district,  and  if  we  put  a 
harbor  there  people  will  establish  all  kinds  of  business  there, 
including  freight  yards.  It  seems  to  me  the  argument  is  en- 
tirely logical  to  give  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  the  land  it 
needs  north  of  Thirtj^-first.  But  whatever  we  do,  let  us  do  it 
now,  so  that  something  may  be  accomplished  while  we  are  yet 
alive,  and  so  that  we  may  see  some  of  the  benefits  of  this  great 
problem  actually  accomplished. 

Gentlemen,  I  trust  you  will  pardon  me  for  taking  up  so  much 
of  your  time,  but  I  felt  it  was  only  fair  to  you  to  make  this  state- 
ment. These  are  in  brief  the  things  we  ask  to  have  guarded  in 
this  new  ordinance,  as  set  forth  in  a  letter  written  by  Chairman 
Littler  to  the  Corporation  Counsel : 

1.  The  right  of  the  city  to  locate  a  harbor  between  Twenty- 
second  and  Sixteenth  Streets  on  the  submerged  lands  adjacent 
to  the  proposed  made  lands  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners. 

2.  The  right  reserved  to  the  city  of  adequate  access  to  said 


277 

harbor  by  viaducts  for  street  and  railway  purposes  across  the 
lands  of  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  Company  and  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  between  Sixteenth  Street  and  Twenty-sec- 
ond Street  and  also  at  Forty-first  Street. 

3.  Right  of  way  reserved  to  the  city  for  railroad  tracks 
from  Forty-first  Street  north  to  Sixteenth  Street  east  of  the 
lands  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

4.  The  right  granted  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  or  to  the  City  of  Chicago 
to  extend  the  South  Park  Boulevard  across  the  railroad  tracks 
and  railroad  lands  at  Twenty-second  Street  in  an  easterly  or 
northerly  direction  by  a  viaduct  the  full  width  of  said  boulevard, 
so  as  to  connect  with  the  park  lands  east  of  the  lands  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company. 

5.  A  limitation  upon  all  submerged,  made  and  other  lands 
lying  west  of  the  proposed  boundary  line  between  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
and  east  of  the  west  line  of  the  present  200-foot  right  of  way  of 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first 
Streets,  restricting  the  use  of  said  lands  for  tracks,  switches,  turn- 
outs and  passenger  stations  only,  unless  otherwise  authorized 
by  express  consent  of  the  City  Council. 

6.  The  obligation  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  in- 
stall and  maintain  in  perpetuity  two  public  bathing  beaches  be- 
tween Twenty-second  Street  and  Jackson  Park  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan. 

7.  The  obligation  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  in- 
stall and  maintain  a  public  pier  for  passengers  and  excursion 
boats  at  or  near  Twenty-second  Street. 

When  the  Corporation  Counsel  drafted  this  new  ordinance 
he  had  Mr.  Littler 's  letter  before  him  and  all  these  matters 
have  been  covered.  And  I  want  to  impress  upon  this  committee 
that  everything  that  we  were  appointed  to  accomplish  as  the 
Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission  in  the  establishment  of 
bathing  beaches  and  the  acquiring  of  the  lake  shore  have  been 
accomplished  in  this  ordinance  contract.  If  the  ordinance  con- 
tract is  seemingly  liberal  in  its  terms  and  gives  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral what  seems  to  be  of  great  value,  I  believe  we  can  well  afford 
to  do  it.  Suppose  we  proceed  upon  the  other  proposition  of 
condemning  these  lands,  that  will  cost  several  millions  of  dol- 
lars. Don't  you  think  it  would  be  better  to  give  200  feet  that 
costs  us  nothing  than  to  dig  into  our  pockets  and  give  the  com- 
pany several  millions  of  dollars,  in  payment  for  their  claimed 
lands  ? 

I  hope  this  committee  will  see  this  in  the  same  light  I  see  it, 
and  be  willing  to  sit  around  this  table  and  work  out  an  ordinance 


278 

that  will  give  substantially  what  the  Illinois  Central  is  entitled 
to,  and  retain  for  the  city  such  rights  as  it  ought  to  have. 

Gentlemen,  I  thank  you. 

Aid.  Emeeson:  May  I  ask  a  question,  Mr.  Long?  Suppose 
this  proposed  ordinance  was  passed,  now  there  are  two  things 
that  might  happen,  first,  the  government  might  refuse  to  give 
their  consent  to  the  filling  in.  Another  thing  might  happen,  that 
the  people  might  refuse  to  vote  bonds  to  defray  the  expenses. 
Then  we  would  be  up  against  this  proposition:  The  Illinois 
Central  would  have  their  widened  line  and  we  would  have  no 
parks.  We  would  pass  an  ordinance  and  give  this  extra  width, 
but  after  the  government  refuses  and  after  the  people  refuse  to 
vote  a  bond  issue,  the  Illinois  Central  would  have  all  they  were 
wanting,  and  we  would  have  nothing.    Would  not  that  be  true  ? 

Aid.  Long  :    The  government  will  not  refuse. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    You  do  not  know. 

Aid.  Long:  I  have  consulted  with  the  Federal  engineer  in 
charge  and  he  says  there  is  no  question  about  it. 

Aid.  Emerson:  How  about  the  people  on  the  bond  issue 
question,  can  you  answer  for  them? 

Aid.  Long:  I  assume  that  the  S'outh  Park  Commissioners 
will  raise  the  money  necessary  to  make  the  improvements  con- 
templated. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    It  will  be  $50,000,000. 

Aid.  Long  :    I  do  not  think  it  will  be  one-tenth  of  $50,000,000. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    Say  $5,000,000. 

Aid.  Long  :  The  South  Park  Board  is  composed  of  responsi- 
ble men,  they  know  what  they  are  about;  they  are  not  a  lot 
of  school  boys;  they  know  what  they  want  to  do  and  it  is  up 
to  them  to  make  these  improvements. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  Will  we  not  have  to  have  a  bond  issue  to 
carry  on  this  construction? 

Aid.  Long:    They  may  have  the  money. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    They  would  not  have  $5,000,000. 

Aid.  Long  :  They  may  have  $1,000,000  and  they  could  start 
it  with  $1,000,000. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  You  know  this  is  a  pretty  big  improvement ; 
it  will  cost  more  than  $5,000,000,  nearer  $50,000,000. 

Aid.  Long:  I  assume  they  will  have  to  have  a  bond  issue. 
There  is  one  matter  I  overlooked.  This  ordinance  as  now  pre- 
sented is  somewhat  objectionable.  It  does  not  meet  my  views 
entirely.  When  this  matter  first  came  up  I  felt  that  the  ordi- 
nance should  cover  only  those  things  which  are  provided  for  in 
the  powers  of  the  Park  Commission.  The  ordinance,  however, 
goes  further;  it  goes  into  the  vacation  of  streets,  into  the  loca- 
tion of  tracks  and  into  the  extension  of  Grant  Park  at  Twelfth 


279 

Street,  the  widening  of  Twelfth  Street.  I  think  those  things 
might  be  properly  eliminated.  I  think  that  the  thing  for  us  to  do 
is  to  prepare  an  ordinance  simply  providing  for  the  adjustment 
of  the  shore  line  on  such  terms  as  we  think  fair  between  the 
Illinois  Central  and  the  city  and  let  it  go  at  that,  and  that  will 
dispose  of  the  great  question  involved  in  this  matter ;  let  all  other 
questions  take  care  of  themselves  when  they  come  up  for  con- 
sideration,— when  they  are  presented  to  us.  Let  us  not  attempt 
to  do  too  much  at  one  time,  but  let  us  adjust  this  principal  matter 
because  it  is  the  thing  that  we  are  vitally  interested  in,  the 
thing  I  would  like  to  see  settled  during  my  political  life,  if  pos- 
sible, and  unless  we  adjust  it  upon  some  basis  of  fairness  be- 
tween these  parties  now,  the  chances  are  we  will  never  see  it  set- 
tled. If  we  can  eliminate  this  whole  question  of  depot  and  the 
widening  of  Twelfth  Street  and  the  extension  of  Grant  Park  and 
the  vacation  of  streets,  and  simply  provide  for  the  determination 
of  the  lines  of  division  between  the  Illinois  Central  and  the 
South  Park  Board  we  will  have  accomplished  a  great  step  in  ad- 
vance, and  we  will  have  given  to  the  Park  Board  a  chance  to  de- 
velop that  will  be  a  credit  to  the  city,  and  to  every  man  who  has 
had  an  opportunity  to  assist  in  furthering  this  splendid  project. 

Aid.  Emerson:  You  would  want  to  eliminate  the  vaca- 
tion of  the  streets  and  the  extension  of  Grant  Park  and  so  on, 
and  just  treat  with  the  shore  line  and  the  Illinois  Central ;  why 
would  it  not  be  a  good  idea  to  pass  an  Act  in  the  Legislature  like 
you  did  on  the  harbor  condemnation  proceeding? 

Aid.  Long:  That  simply  means  delay.  Are  you  willing  to 
go  to  the  Legislature  and  lobby  a  bill  through! 

Aid.  Emerson:    Certainly  I  am. 

Aid.  Long:    I  am  not. 

Aid.  Emerson:  It  did  not  delay  your  harbor  proposition 
when  you  wanted  to  condemn  land  for  harbor  purposes. 

Aid.  Long  :  Do  you  think  you  would  be  any  further  on  after 
you  procured  legislation?  Suppose  we  revise  this  ordinance  so, 
that  it  meets  our  views  and  adjusts  the  shore  line  fairly  between 
the  railroad  and  the  public.  Nothing  more  could  be  accomplished 
by  legislation.    Indeed  legislation  would  only  cause  delay. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  Why  do  you  think  it  advisable  to  take  out 
the  vacation  of  streets  1 

Aid.  Long  :  In  order  to  simplify  the  proposition  before  us. 
I  want  to  reduce  it  down  to  one  essential  thing. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  You  know  it  was  stated  here  the  other  day 
by  people  opposing  it  that  the  Illinois  Central  would  not  accept 
any  ordinance. 

Aid.  Long  :    I  do  not  care  what  the  Illinois  Central  may  do ; 


280 

that  is  no  argiunent  either  for  or  against  the  merits  of  the  propo- 
sition. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  Mr.  Donnersberger  said  that  they  would  not 
agree  to  electrifying  or  depressing  their  tracks. 

Aid.  Long  :  Let  us  pass  a  good  ordinance,  one  that  we  think 
is  right.  If  the  Illinois  Central  turns  it  down,  we  will  have  done 
everything  that  we  could  do. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  I  think  if  you  eliminate  the  depot  question 
and  the  vacation  of  streets,  then  your  better  plan  is  to  go  to  the 
Legislature. 

Aid.  Long  :  That  would  simply  mean  that  we  duck  the  whole 
proposition.  I  think  it  is  up  to  us  to  do  something ;  let  us  not  be 
afraid  to  do  what  is  right  in  this  matter. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    We  are  getting  our  rights  then. 

Aid.  Long  :  We  do  not  want  to  wait  until  the  next  genera- 
tion to  settle  this  matter.    I  would  like  to  see  it  settled  now. 

Aid.  Emerson:  It  did  not  take  you  long  on  the  harbor 
proposition. 

The  Chairman  :  It  is  not  settled.  There  will  be  a  vote  upon 
that. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  The  people  will  vote  that  down  on  the  bond 
issue. 

Aid.  Long  :  By  simply  referring  this  matter  to  the  Legisla- 
ture means  ducking  it  by  us.  There  will  not  be  a  session  inside  of 
a  year  from  the  coming  winter.  If  we  fail  to  get  any  legisla- 
tion, nothing  can  be  done,  and  we  will  then  be  in  the  same  posi- 
tion we  are  now. 

Aid.  KuNz:    You  mean  about  the  power  to  condemn? 

Aid.  Long  :    Yes,  sir. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Skinner  a  question. 
Mr.  Skinner,  is  the  city  in  a  good  position  now  to  win  its  law  suit 
against  the  Illinois  Central? 

Aid.  Long  :  I  do  not  think  that  is  a  fair  question.  The  Illi- 
nois Central  has  no  right  to  the  information.  You  are  calling  out 
information  here  that  the  Illinois  Central  could  take  advantage 
of.    I  think  it  is  unfair  to  ask  Mr.  Skinner  a  question  of  that  kind. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  You  stated  it  was  very  doubtful  whether 
the  city  can  win.    Is  that  true,  Mr.  Skinner  ? 

Mr.  Skinner:  I  can  only  answer  that  by  saying  that  I 
have  made  an  extensive  examination  of  abstracts.  I  have  a  pile 
that  high  (indicating  about  a  foot)  of  abstracts  that  I  have  not 
yet  examined,  which  were  ordered  for  the  express  purpose, 
aldermen,  of  determining  as  exactly  as  possible  what  the  shore 
rights  and  the  shore  titles  were  between  Sixteenth  and  Fifty- 
first  Streets. 

Aid.  KuNz :    How  many  feet  would  that  be  ? 


281 

Mr.  Skinnek:  About  four  and  one-half  miles.  We  have 
those,  but  this  other  matter  has  come  on. 

Aid.  Emerson:  If  this  case  comes  up — I  understand  it  is 
set  for  some  time  this  month? 

Aid.  KuNz :    No,  there  is  a  demurrer  against  it. 

Mr.  Skinner  :  This  information  was  filed  in  the  name  of  the 
Attorney  General  and  State's  Attorney,  but  the  work  done  by 
the  Corporation  Counsel's  office  was  demurred  to  by  the  Illinois 
Central.  Under  the  former  administration,  Mr.  Brundage's 
administration,  one  of  the  grounds  of  demurrer,  the  chief  ground, 
as  I  understand  it — I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  argument  of  that 
demurrer — was  that  the  specific  tracts  or  parcels  were  not  set 
out  in  the  proper  place  along  the  lake  front  from  Twelfth  or 
Sixteenth  Street  to  Fifty-first,  and  I  called  up  Mr.  Park  and  I 
understood  from  him  over  the  telephone  that  that  was  one  of 
the  grounds  upon  which  the  demurrer  was  sustained.  Then  it 
means  that  those  representing  the  city  should  go  to  the  bottom 
of  things  and  get  the  information;  first,  to  have  your  abstracts 
and  afterwards  to  have  a  survey  to  determine  just  the  shape,  po- 
sition and  quantity  of  each  and  every  little  irregular  tract,  and 
we  had  got  to  the  extent  of  ordering  the  abstract,  but  this  matter 
of  settlement  came  up,  and  we  have  not  proceeded  further. 

Aid.  Emerson :    This  proposed  ordinance? 

Mr.  Skinner;    Yes,  sir. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  I  understood  in  this  case  the  suit  was  on  the 
docket  and  would  probably  be  up  for  trial  in  February.  Now  am 
I  wrong  there  or  right? 

Mr.  Skinner:  It  is  not  at  issue  and  it  cannot  be  for  trial 
until  it  is  at  issue. 

Aid.  Emerson:  Was  it  not  stated  that  this  case  would 
probably  be  for  trial  in  February? 

Aid.  Long  :    The  case  is  not  at  issue  yet. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    Is  it  not  on  the  docket  for  trial  now? 

Aid.  KuNz:     No. 

Mr.  Skinner  :    It  cannot  be  for  trial  until  it  is  at  issue. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  Are  you  working  on  it,  or  are  you  waiting 
until  this  ordinance  is  settled  up? 

Mr.  Skinner  :  We  worked  until  this  matter  came  up.  There 
are  seven  suits  now.  We  have  picked  out  one  suit  that  we  think 
is  our  strongest  suit,  and  we  will  make  our  first  fight  on  that. 
If  we  win  upon  that  we  will  proceed  with  the  others,  one  after 
the  other. 

Aid.  Long  :  I  think  you  could  say  that  the  one  you  refer  to 
is  not  the  Illinois  Central  suit. 

Mr.  Skinner  :    Yes,  I  can  say  that. 

Aid.  KuNz:    Let  me  ask  Mr.  Skinner  a  question.    In  case 


282 

the  Legislature  would  empower  the  City  of  Chicago  to  condemn, 
would  you  not  then  be  in  a  better  position  with  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Eailroad  and  the  other  six  people  than  you  are  at  the  pres- 
ent time  ? 

Mr.  Skinnee:  That  is  purely  a  matter  of  negotiation  and 
policy  that  anyone  can  answer  as  well  as  a  lawyer. 

Aid.  KuNZ :    Is  it  not  a  fact  if  you  had  the  law 

Mr.  Skinner  :  You  mean  you  would  have  more  legal  right 
and  therefore  a  greater  leverage  to  get  a  better  deal? 

Aid.  KuNZ :    Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Skinner  :    I  suppose  you  would. 

Aid.  Emerson  :    You  would  have  the  right  to  condemn. 

Aid.  Long:  You  could  not  condemn  without  paying  the 
price  of  condemnation. 

Aid.  KuNz :  That  would  be  nominal.  That  would  be  for  the 
courts  to  decide. 

Aid.  Long:  They  might  not  hold  the  consideration  as 
merely  nominal. 

Aid.  Eyan  :  It  seems  to  me  if  we  can  settle  this  matter  in 
the  City  of  Chicago  we  should  do  it  rather  than  delegate  any 
powers  to  the  State  Legislature. 

Aid.  KuNz :  You  are  not  delegating  any  powers.  You  are 
asking  the  State  Legislature  to  give  you  powers  that  you  have 
not  now.    You  are  simply  asking  for  more  power. 

Aid.  Emerson  :  If  the  city  had  the  right  under  an  Act  of  the 
Legislature  to  condemn,  that  would  give  you  a  free  hand  in  your 
present  law  suit,  would  it  not?  You  could  bring  them  to  terms 
better. 

Mr.  S'kinner  :  Did  I  understand  you  to  mean  the  city  or  the 
South  Park  Board? 

Aid.  Emerson  :    Either  one. 

Aid.  KuNz :    Whichever  is  granted  the  power. 

Mr.  Skinner:  The  city  has  certain  condemnation  powers 
which  are  broad  and  general,  but  it  has  no  right  in  the  submerged 
lands.  That  is  in  the  State  or  in  the  South  Park  Board.  The 
city  itself  has  very  broad  condemnation  powers. 

Aid.  Emerson:  If  they  have,  Mr.  Skinner,  why  don't  they 
go  ahead  upon  this  ?  Is  it  not  a  fact  if  the  city  wanted  to,  they 
could  go  and  condemn  every  street  across  the  Illinois  Central 
tracks  to  the  lake? 

Mr.  Skinner  :    Yes,  I  think  they  could. 

Aid.  Emerson  :   They  could  do  that? 

Mr.  Skinner:  I  think  they  have  the  right  under  the  ordi- 
nance of  June  4,  1897. 

Aid.  Emerson:  The  city  has  certain  powers.  They  could 
bring  the  Illinois  Central  to  time.    It  looks  as  though  in  this 


283 

ordinance  we  give  everything  to  the  Illinois  Central  and  get 
nothing  in  return.  That  has  been  the  history  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral throughout  the  State.  They  have  every  alternate  section 
worth  millions  of  dollars  to  the  Illinois  Central.  Nothing  is 
given  to  the  people.  Now,  they  are  coming  in  and  want  some 
more  of  the  lake  front.  If  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
had  their  dues,  they  would  own  the  Illinois  Central  for  the  land 
donated  to  them — thousands  of  acres  of  valuable  land. 

The  Chairman  :  Are  you  willing  to  sit  with  the  committee, 
and  thresh  out  an  ordinance  that  you  think  protects  the  city? 

Aid.  Emerson  :  I  will  tell  you  what  I  am  willing  to  do ;  I 
am  willing  to  make  a  motion  that  the  City  Council  recommend 
that  the  Legislature  give  the  city  power  to  condemn.  I  am  not 
in  favor  of  any  ordinance  that  is  going  to  give  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral what  they  are  looking  for  in  this  present  case  as  it  now 
stands. 

The  Chairman:  Don't  you  think  this  committee  can  frame 
some  kind  of  an  ordinance  that  will  be  satisfactory  to  every  one 
concerned  ?  Don 't  you  think  we  can  frame  an  ordinance  that  will 
protect  all  the  city's  interests,  and  then  it  is  up  to  the  Illinois 
Central  to  accept?  It  seems  to  me  we  do  not  want  to  ditch  this 
proposition.  As  chairman  of  this  committee,  I  think  we  are  big 
enough  to  vote  out  an  ordinance  that  will  he  absolutely  satis- 
factory to  the  citizens ;  then  we  can  see  what  the  Illinois  Central 
is  going  to  do. 

Aid.  Brennan  :  You  laid  great  stress  upon  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral giving  up  their  depot,  now  you  are  going  to  do  away  with 
that. 

The  Chairman:  We  have  not  dropped  that  proposition 
yet,  Mr.  Brennan.  We  ought  to  be  strong  enough  here  and  able 
to  draw  up  an  ordinance  which  will  be  satisfactory. 

Aid.  Geiger:  I  move  that  we  take  up  this  ordinance  sec- 
tion by  section,  and  when  we  get  a  section  before  us  let  us  dis- 
cuss it  and  amend  it  one  way  or  the  other.  I  make  that  as  a 
motion. 

The  Chairman  :  It  has  been  moved  and  seconded  that  we 
take  up  this  ordinance  section  by  section  and  vote  on  each  sec- 
tion. 

Aid.  Brennan:  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  the  com- 
munications sent  in  from  different  people? 

The  Chairman  :    We  have  read  everything  that  has  come  in. 

Aid.  Brennan  :  My  question  was,  was  the  city  ever  taken 
into  those  conferences  before  the  contract  was  signed  between 
the  Illinois  Central  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners  ? 

Aid.  Long:    Yes,  it  was. 

Aid.  Brennan  :    According  to  what  Mr.  Hoyne  said  here  he 


284 

didn't  know  anything  about  it.  The  Corporation  Counsel's  of- 
fice did  not  know  anything  about  it  before 

Aid.  Long:  Before  the  contract  was  signed,  as  I  stated  in 
my  remarks,  or  at  least  I  intended  to,  there  was  a  conference 
in  the  Mayor's  office  at  which  Mr.  Hoyne,  Judge  Payne,  Mr.  Red- 
field,  and  the  Mayor  and  I  were  present,  and  all  these  things 
were  discussed  tentatively,  and  in  a  general  way  it  was  agreed 
that  the  settlement  would  be  a  good  thing,  if  the  details  were 
right.  It  was  believed  that  a  proposition  of  this  kind  carefully 
worked  out  would  be  very  desirable  for  the  city. 

Aid.  Brennan  :  I  understood  that  contract  was  signed  at 
that  time. 

Aid.  Long:     No,  it  was  not. 

Aid.  Hey:  I  understood  Aid.  Brennan  asked  whether  the 
city  was  invited  officially.    Was  the  city  invited  officially! 

Aid.  Long  :     No,  I  think  not. 

Aid.  Brennan:     The  city  should  have  something  to  say. 

Aid.  Long  :     That  is  what  we  are  here  for  today. 

Aid.  KuNz:  It  seems  to  me  that  we  are  rather  hasty  in 
preparing  an  ordinance  at  this  time.  In  the  first  place,  the  Com- 
mittee on  Reclamation  has  started  a  suit  against  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  to  acquire  lands,  and  no  sooner  had 
they  started  in  with  their  suit  when  the  South  Park  Commission- 
ers come  in  here  with  a  scheme  for  beautifying  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago. Now,  it  seems  to  me — I  may  be  wrong — that  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  fear  this  suit.  So  far  as  we  have 
gone  to  the  present  time,  your  Committee  on  Reclamation  has 
filed  the  suit,  and  a  demurrer  has  been  filed  by  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  Company.  We  are  advised  here  that  they  have  a 
stack  of  abstracts  about  that  high  (indicating),  to  be  examined. 
Now,  no  one  knows  what  those  abstracts  contain.  No  one  knows 
what  rights  the  Illinois  Central  has  at  the  present  time.  I  do 
not  see  that  the  framing  of  an  ordinance  at  this  time,  when  we 
have  not  all  of  the  facts  before  us,  will  be  of  any  advantage.  I 
do  not  think  any  harm  will  be  done  if  the  City  Council  would 
petition  the  Governor,  in  case  a  special  session  is  called,  to  add 
that  the  Legislature  may  consider  a  bill  to  condemn  the  streets, 
giving  power  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  or  the  City  of 
Chicago.  The  question  of  the  passing  of  this  ordinance  can  lie 
dormant  for  a  while  until  such  time  as  the  Legislature  will  take 
this  matter  in  hand.  We  have  before  us  a  great  many  protests. 
We  have  on  one  hand  the  Real  Estate  Board,  who  seem  to  be 
deeply  interested  in  this  matter, — why  they  are  I  do  not  know. 
We  have  on  the  other  hand,  men  who  reside  on  the  South  Side 
who  are  protesting  against  a  contract  of  this  nature.  Now,  there 
is  no  hurry  about  this  matter.    Our  friend  Long  said  that  the 


285 

passage  of  this  ordinance  would  not  preclude  the  people  from 
going  into  court  and  litigating  their  rights.  Now,  why  should  we 
put  these  people  to  the  expense  of  going  into  court  when  it  is 
within  the  power  of  this  State  and  within  the  power  of  this  city 
to  adjudicate  this  matter?  It  is  admitted  that  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  will  have  to  issue  bonds.  If  the  bonds  are  issued 
the  people  of  Chicago  will  have  to  pay  them  in  the  way  of  taxes. 
It  comes  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  taxpayer.  I  think  the  proper 
mode  of  procedure  at  this  time  should  be  that  we  should  pass  a 
petition  or  an  order  petitioning  the  Governor  to  call  a  special 
session  of  the  Legislature  to  act  in  this  matter,  and  I  move  as  a 
substitute  to  the  motion  of  Aid.  Geiger,  that  the  chairman  of  this 
committee  be  instructed  to  prepare  a  resolution  asking  the  Gov- 
ernor to  call  a  special  session  of  the  Legislature  to  give  power 
to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  condemn  the  riparian 
rights. 

Aid.  Brennan  :     I  second  the  motion. 

(Aid.  Ryan  raised  the  point  of  order  that  the  substitute 
motion  presented  by  Aid.  Kunz  was  out  of  order,  as  it  was  not 
germane  to  the  question.) 

Aid.  Block  :  I  believe  that  this  committee  is  fully  intelli- 
gent enough  to  draw  up  an  ordinance  which  is  a  good  ordinance 
for  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  but,  gentlemen,  before  we  can  do 
that,  before  we  can  draw  up  a  proper  ordinance,  that  will  be  a 
benefit  to  the  City  of  Chicago,  let  us  know  the  status  of  the  hold- 
ings of  the  Illinois  Central  on  the  lake  front.  Up  to  date  we 
have  only  had  public  hearings,  but  in  the  discussion  of  this  ordi- 
nance we  must  consider  the  underlying  principles,  and  that  is 
the  exact  status  of  the  holdings  of  the  Illinois  Central  at  the 
lake  front.  If  that  matter  can  be  brought  in  here  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  not  as  a  matter  of  presumption,  so  we  may  weigh  the 
holdings  and  the  power  that  the  Illinois  Central  has  and  is  in 
possession  of — if  we  have  that,  we  are  then  able  to  go  to  work 
and  make  a  satisfactory  investigation  of  it,  otherwise  we  are 
dealing  in  speculations,  we  are  dealing  in  platitudes. 

Aid.  Brennan  :     Question. 

(The  chairman  decided  the  point  of  Aid.  Ryan  was  well 
taken.) 

The  Chairman:     Call  the  roll. 

(The  chairman  requested  the  secretary  to  call  the  roll  on 
the  motion  of  Aid.  Geiger  to  take  up  the  ordinance,  section  by 
section.) 

(Sec.  Harrah  called  the  roll  with  the  following  results:) 

Aid.  Long:     Aye. 

Aid.  Nance:     No. 

Aid.  Emerson:     No. 


286 

Aid.  Buckley:     No. 

Aid.  KuNz:     No. 

Aid.  Brennan:     No. 

Aid.  Geiger:    Aye. 

Aid.  Hey:     No. 

Aid.  Block:     No. 

Aid.  Eyan:    Aye. 

Aid.  Forsberg:    No. 

Sec.  Harrah  :     Lost  by  a  vote  of  three  to  eight. 

Aid.  Brennan  :     I  move  that  we  adjourn  for  a  week. 

Aid.  KuNz:  Before  you  adjourn,  why  not  ask  the  Corpo- 
ration Counsel,  or  why  not  instruct  the  chainnan,  to  draw  up 
a  petition  asking  the  Governor  to  issue  a  call  for  a  special  ses- 
sion to  authorize  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  condemn  ri- 
parian rights?  I  believe  in  all  fairness  that  this  motion  ought 
to  be  put,  that  the  chairman  be  instructed  to  draw  up  a  reso- 
lution asking  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois  to  include  in 
the  call  for  a  special  session,  if  such  a  call  is  made,  that  he  re- 
quest the  Legislature  to  consider  the  passage  of  an  act  giving 
the  power  to  the  City  of  Chicago  or  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners to  condemn  the  riparian  rights. 

(Motion  was  seconded.) 

(A  roll  call  was  taken  on  this  motion,  with  the  following  re- 
sult:) 

Aid.  Long:     No. 

Aid.  Nance:     Aye. 

Aid.  Emerson:    Aye. 

Aid.  KuNZ:     Aye. 

Aid.  Brennan:     Aye. 

Aid.  Geiger:    No. 

Aid.  Hey:    Aye.  » 

Aid.  Block  :    Aye. 

Aid.  Eyan:    No. 

Aid.  Forsberg:     Aye. 

Sec.  Harrah  :     Carried  by  a  vote  of  eight  to  three. 

Aid.  Block  :  I  would  like  to  make  a  motion  before  we  ad- 
journ, that  the  Corporation  Counsel  be  instructed  to  present  to 
this  committee  a  summary  of  the  title  underlying  the  land  of  the 
Illinois  Central,  and  which  the  Illinois  Central  claims  to  own, 
from  Twelfth  to  Fifty-first  Streets,  so  we  may  have  something 
we  can  carry  on  a  discussion  on  as  soon  as  possible. 

Aid.  Long  :  Add  to  that,  that  as  soon  as  that  is  furnished, 
this  matter  will  be  taken  up  for  further  consideration. 

Aid.  Block:    Yes. 

Aid.  Eyan  :    I  second  that  motion. 

(Motion  put  and  carried.) 


287 

Thereupon  the  committee  adjourned  subject  to  the  call  of 
the  chair. 


3.      EFFORTS    TO    PBOCURE    LEGISLATION NEW     AGKEEMENT    OF    MARCH     30,     1912,    BE- 
TWEEN   THE    SOUTH    PARK    COMMISSIONERS   AND   THE   ILLINOIS    CENTRAL   RAILROAD 

COMPANY — CORRESPONDENCE    WITH    THE    MAYOR    RELATIVE    TO    NEW    AGREEMENT 

PETITION    TO   THE   CIRCUIT   COURT   OF   COOK    COUNTY   AND   FINAL   DECREE   OF   JUDGE 
HONOBE. 

After  the  adverse  action  of  the  Committee  on  Harbors, 
Wharves  and  Bridges  on  the  5th  day  of  February  as  above,  at- 
tention was  directed  to  the  procurement  of  proper  legislation 
enabling  the  South  Park  Commissioners  to  acquire  by  condemna- 
tion the  lake  front*  yet,  notwithstanding  the  pendency  of  such 
proposed  legislation,  negotiations  were  again  shortly  resumed 
between  the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company,  resulting  in  a  new  agreement  between  said 
parties,  dated  March  30,  1912.  A  petition  was  duly  filed  in  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County  at  the  May,  1912,  term  thereof, 
for  the  confirmation  of  said  agreement  of  March  30, 1912,  which 
petition  was  vigorously  opposed  in  a  protest  filed  by  a  Citizens' 
Committee,  headed  by  Mr.  Lessing  Rosenthal  and  others,  which 
protest  resulted  in  a  supplemental  agreement  between  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany, dated  June  26,  1912,  and  upon  the  execution  of  said  sup- 
plemental agreement,  all  further  opposition  and  protest  by  said 
parties  was  withdrawn  or  waived,  and  the  Circuit  Court,  by 
Judge  Loekwood  Honore,  on  July  10,  1912,  entered  a  final  de- 
cree, confirming  the  agreement  between  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners.! 

It  should  be  noted  that  owing  to  some  disagreement  between 
the  Corporation  Counsel  and  the  protestants  as  to  the  efficacy 
of  the  supplemental  agreement  of  June  26,  1912,  aforesaid,  the 
Corporation  Counsel  on  July  3,  1912,  withdrew  the  appearanceB 
and  answers  of  the  city.  (See  Council  Proceedings  of  July  8, 
1912,  page  1052.   See  also  Appendix  L  of  this  Report.) 

Pending  the  consideration  by  the  court  of  the  agreement  of 
March  30,  1912,  the  writer  having  been  detained  out  of  the  city 
and  desiring  that  no  detail  might  be  overlooked,  addressed  the 
following  letter  to  the  Mayor : 

*For  full  details  of  the  steps  taken  to  procure  legislation,  see  ante,  page 
24,  et  seg.    See  also  Appendix  C. 

fFor  agreement  of  March  30,  1912,  and  the  petition  to  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Cook  County  for  confirmation  thereof  and  the  supplemental  agreement  of  Jan. 
26,  1912,  and  the  final  decree  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  July  12,  1912,  see  Ap- 
pendix H. 


288 

LAKE  SHORE  RECLAMATION  COMMISSION 

OF  THE  CITY  COUNCIL  OF  THE  CITY  OF  CHICAGO. 

Theodore  K.  Long,  Chairman. 

Wm.  H.  Sexton,  G.  B.  Young,  m.  d., 

Corporation  Counsel.  Commissioner  of  Health. 

May  28,  1912. 
Hon.  Carter  H.  Harrison,  Mayor. 

Dear  Mr.  Mayor:  Referring  again  to  the  pending  agreement  between 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners, 
I  wish  to  invite  your  attention  to  the  language  of  Article  V  in  said  agree- 
ment in  reference  to  the  lands  to  be  acquired  by  the  company,  as  follows: 

"The  said  company  shall  have  and  hold  the  fee  simple  title  to  any 
and  all  such  lands  and  interests  so  vested  in  it,  with  the  full  right  to  fill 
in,  improve,  protect  and  use  the  same  for  railroad  and  other  lawful  pur- 
poses, and  to  sell  and  convey  the  same  up  to  the  lines  so  established, 
free  from  any  adverse  claim  in  any  way  arising  out  of  any  question 
as  to  where  the  shore  line  was  at  any  time  In  the  past,  or  as  to  the 
title  to  any  existing  accretions." 

In  my  opinion,  the  foregoing  is  altogether  too  broad  and  permits  the 
railroad  company  to  dispose  of  these  lands  so  that  they  may  be  used  for 
any  lawful  manufacturing  or  commercial  purpose,  thus  making  it  possible 
and  probable  that  the  lake  shore  may  be  obstructed  with  unsiehtly  build- 
ings that  will  largely  destroy  the  very  object  for  which  we  are  contending. 

Then  again,  paragraph  4  of  Article  VII,  with  reference  to  the  lands 
of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets, 
is  altogether  different  from  the  language  we  inserted  in  the  original  con- 
tract.    Such  original  provision   (Sec.  9,  Original  Contract)   is  as  follows: 

"Provided,  however,  that  subject  to  any  leases  in  force  December  1, 
1911,  if  any  there  be,  all  submerged,  penetrating  and  made  lands  and 
other  lands,  lying  west  of  the  proposed  boundary  line  and  east  of  the 
west  line  of  the  present  200-foot  right-of-way  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets,  shall  not 
be  used  for  any  purpose  other  than  tracks,  switches,  turnouts  and  pas- 
senger stations." 

There  is  no  question  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  language  of  the  original 
contract;  but  the  new  language  substituted  for  the  foregoing  in  the  pending 
contract  is  as  follows: 

"(4).  That  except  with  the  consent  of  the  City  Council  of  the  City 
of  Chicago,  no  building  of  any  dimensions  whatever,  or  for  any  pur- 
pose whatever,  shall  hereafter  be  constructed  or  permitted  to  be  con- 
structed upon  the  right  of  way,  or  lands  of  the  company  acquired  or  to 
be  acquired  hereunder,  between  the  south  line  of  Thirty-first  Street 
projected  east  and  the  north  line  of  Fifty-first  Street,  except  switch 
shanties,  switch  towers  and  signal  towers  when  necessary  and  where 
necessary  for  the  actual  operation  of  the  railroad  of  the  company,  which 
shanties  and  towers  shall  not  be  higher  than  reasonably  necessary  for 
the  purposes  thereof,  and  also  except  waiting  rooms,  shelters  at  suburb- 
an depots  and  other  buildings  and  structures  for  passenger  purposes 
and  accommodation." 

I  think  it  is  quite  obvious  that  the  language  of  the  last  quotation  above 
is  obscure,  that  it  is  not  certain  whether  its  purpose  is  to  include  within 
the  restriction  intended  or  to  exclude  from  such  restriction  the  company's 
present  right  of  way. 

I  wish  to  say,  however,  that  in  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Skinner  a  few 
•  days  ago  he  stated  to  me  that  in  his  opinion  the  city  is  in  a  position  now 
where  it  can  fairly  contend  for  such  a  reasonable  modification  of  the  pend- 
ing agreement  as  may  be  necessary,  in  the  opinion  of  the  court,  to  fully 


II 


289 

safeguard  the  interests  of  the  public  and  the  city;  and  it  occurs  to  me,  that 
the  city  should  not  lose  its  opportunity  to  insist  upon  the  language  of  the 
original  contract,  or  its  equivalent,  in  reference  to  the  lands  and  right  of 
way  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets. 

As  I  stated  in  Council  a  week  ago  last  night,  there  are  also  several 
minor  objections  relating,  among  other  things,  to  depression  of  tracks,  the 
reserved  right  of  the  city  to  cross  the  Illinois  Central  without  condemna- 
tion proceedings,  the  reservation  to  the  city  of  all  its  existing  police  powers, 
etc.,  reservation  for  harbor  purposes,  the  proper  maintenance  of  bathing 
beaches  and  recreation  piers,  and  the  extension  of  South  Park  Boulevard. 
All  these  should  be  arranged  for,  and  I  understand,  from  my  recent  talk 
with  you,  that  they  have  been  substantially  covered  by  correspondence  be- 
tween yourself  and  the  South  Park  Board. 

In  so  far,  however,  as  they  have  not  been  covered,  it  seems  to  me  they 
should  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  court  so  that  they  may  be  included, 
if  possible,  in  the  agreement  as  finally  approved. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 


CITY  OF  CHICAGO 
OFFICE  OF  THE  MAYOR 


Carter  H.  Harrison, 

Mayor. 


Chicago,  June  1,  1912. 
Mr.  Theodore  K.  Long,  4823  Eimbark  Avenue,  Chicago. 

Dear  Sir:  I  shall  be  glad  to  give  your  letter  of  May  28,  referring  to 
the  pending  agreement  between  the  Illinois  Central  and  the  South  Park 
Board,  consideration. 

I  have  taken  the  subject  of  it  up  with  Corporation  Counsel  Sexton. 

Yours  very  truly. 

Carter  H.  Harrison, 

Mayor. 

WEile  it  is  apparent  from  the  foregoing  proceedings  before 
the  Committee  on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges,  and  before  the 
courts,  that  there  was  considerable  diversity  of  opinion  relative 
to  the  adjustment  of  the  details  of  the  Illinois  Central  case,  it  is 
also  true  that  there  never  was  any  real  difference  between  the 
several  persons  who  took  part  in  the  proceedings,  as  to  the  re- 
sults sought  to  be  attained.  The  writer  deems  it  fortunate  for 
the  public  that  the  different  views  were  brought  to  the  surface 
and  given  a  full  opportunity  for  ventilation  and  adjustment  be- 
fore the  entry  by  the  court  of  its  final  decree,*  thus  forever  si- 
lencing all  opposition  and  effecting  a  settlement,  which  if  not 
ideal  from  the  standpoint  of  the  public,  is  at  least  expedient  and 
desirable,  and,  let  us  hope,  permanent. 


*For  final  decree,  see  Appendix  H. 


290 
IV. 

COMMENTS  ON  LAKE  SHORE  SETTLEMENTS. 

In  conclusion,  we  beg  to  report  that  since  the  creation  of  the 
Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission,  January  25,  1910,  title  to 
the  greater  part  of  the  lake  shore  from  Jackson  Park  to  Grant 
Park  has  been  settled  and  confirmed  in  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the  people.* 

And  it  is  only  fair  to  add  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer, 
no  one  person  or  authority  is  entitled  wholly  to  the  credit  of 
having  wrought  so  beneficent  and  important  a  result.  Indeed, 
it  would  have  been  impossible  in  the  brief  space  of  time  elapsing 
since  the  initiation  of  the  work  of  this  commission,  to  have  ac- 
complished any  material  results,  had  it  not  been  for  the  hearty 
co-operation  and  assistance  of  all  the  several  official  bodies  inter- 
ested therein,  as  well  as  the  public  generally,  and  most  of  all, 
the  Chicago  press.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  good  work  has  been 
accomplished  in  the  usual  Chicago  way,  which  means  that  all 
who  contributed  to  the  successful  settlement  of  this  difficult 
problem  are  entitled  to  share  in  the  glory  thereof. 

And  in  this  connection  proper  credit  must  be  given  to  the 
South  Park  Commissioners,  without  whose  enthusiastic  eiforts 
nothing  could  have  been  accomplished.  Great  credit  is  also  due 
to  the  untiring  zeal  and  efficient  aid  of  Mr.  E.  B.  Butler,  Mr. 
Charles  Wacker,  Mr.  Lessing  Rosenthal  and  others,  who  gave 
liberally  of  their  time  and  energy  in  bringing  about  a  proper  and 
final  solution  of  the  lake  shore  problem. 

The  splendid  results  accomplished  in  the  adjustment  of  the 
several  matters  hereinbefore  discussed,  illustrate,  in  a  whole- 
some manner,  the  true  spirit  of  ''get  together,"  and  it  is  this 
same  spirit  that  we  must,  in  a  large  measure,  realize  upon  in 
order  to  work  out  the  great  problems  of  our  municipality  still 
confronting  us,  which,  when  solved,  will  enable  us  to  realize  the 
dream  of  the  city's  new  birth — a  greater,  more  artistic  and  bet- 
ter Chicago,  a  Chicago  not  only  commercial  but  esthetic  and 
altruistic  as  well. 

Following  the  first  or  material  birth  of  Chicago,  came  her 
wonderful  material  development.  From  the  pine  forests  of  the 
North,  the  mineral  lodes  of  the  West,  the  rich  pastures  and  fer- 
tile fields  of  the  Mississippi,  have  been  assembled  here  the  great 

♦Note:  The  South  Park  Commissioners  on  October  18,  1912,  filed  a  petition 
In  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County  for  the  condemnation  of  the  riparian  rights 
of  what  is  known  as  the  Walker  tract,  this  being  the  only  tract  between  Fifty- 
flrst  Street  and  Grant  Park  not  claimed  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railway  Com- 
pany, and  the  acquisition  of  this  tract  will  complete  the  title  of  the  Park  Com- 
missioners to  the  entire  lake  shore  between  the  points  designated. 


291 

prizes  for  which  men  toil  and  struggle,  and  it  is  from  these  and 
out  of  these  that  Chicago  has  won  the  splendid  ultimate  triumph 
of  material  wealth ;  and,  what  is  even  more,  it  is  from  these  and 
out  of  these  that  she  has  evolved  a  race  of  commercial  Titans 
whose  splendid  triumphs  in  trade,  commerce,  finance  and  trans- 
portation, have  been  and  are  now  the  admiration  of  the  com- 
mercial world. 

In  the  development  and  evolution  of  the  ideal  man,  there 
logically  comes  a  time  somewhere  along  the  course  of  life  where 
the  mere  accumulation  of  wealth  ceases  to  satisfy  his  normal 
hopes  and  aspirations.  The  great  Architect  of  the  universe  has 
implanted  in  every  human  heart  an  ethical  aspiration,  which, 
sooner  or  later,  generates  in  its  possessor  the  hope  and  wish  for 
the  esthetic,  the  spiritual,  the  beautiful,  the  altruistic,  and  the 
extent  to  which  the  individual  is  able  to  yield  to  the  refinement 
of  his  inner  self,  determines  the  real  measure  of  his  success  and 
happiness.  The  same  law  that  maintains  with  regard  to  the 
individual  exists  with  equal  force  with  reference  to  the  city. 

Chicago  has  reached  the  stage  in  her  splendid  material 
growth  where  the  esthetic  spirit  is  beginning  to  take  deep  root, 
and  a  thousand  voices  call  for  playgrounds,  recreation  piers, 
bathing  beaches,  beautiful  streets,  works  of  art  and  the  higher 
comforts  of  civilization.  Who  can  say  that  it  is  not  the  call  of 
the  spirit — the  call  for  Chicago's  new  birth,  and  this  new  birth 
does  not  mean  less  of  material  prosperity,  but  simply  an  oppor- 
tunity to  develop  the  artistic  and  the  beautiful  along  with  the 
material.  Chicago  must  always  be  the  great  commercial  ex- 
change of  the  West,  and  whatever  we  do  must  have  regard  first 
to  this  fact.  When  Chicago  ceases  to  be  commercial  and  mate- 
rial, productive  and  useful,  her  career  will  have  been  run,  and 
her  crumbling  walls  and  moss-covered  ruins  will  attest  the  locus 
of  a  declining  race. 

We  may  go  a  step  further  and  say  that  the  same  law  that 
develops  the  esthetic  and  spiritual  in  the  individual  and  in  the 
city,  maintains  with  equal  force  in  an  aggregation  of  individuals. 
The  Commercial  Club  of  Chicago  includes  among  its  membership 
many  of  the  class  designated  as  commerce  builders,  without 
whose  struggles  and  victories  Chicago  could  not  have  attained 
the  commercial  prominence  she  holds  today. 

These  busy  men,  with  a  lavish  expenditure  of  time  and  mon- 
ey, and  constructive  genius  unprecedented,  are  now  turning 
their  attention  to  the  altruistic  side  of  Chicago's  development, 
and  it  is  largely  the  growth  and  development  of  this  altruistic 
spirit  that  distinguishes  Chicago  from  other  municipalities,  in- 
spiring within  her  denizens  a  greater  faith  and  keeping  her  ever 
in  the  van  accomplishing  and  achieving. 


292 


V. 

THE  CALUMET  DISTKICT,  INCLUDING  THE  ENTIRE  SHORE  OF  LAKE  CALU- 
MET, IN  SOUTH  CHICAGO. 

In  pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  the  City  Council,  passed 
June  20,  1910  (C.  P.,  p.  651),  directing  the  Lake  Shore  Reclama- 
tion Commission  to  investigate  the  encroachments  made  upon 
Lake  Calumet,  a  survey  of  said  lake  was  completed  by  said  com- 
mission and  a  complete  plat  thereof  made  as  shown  in  detail  by 
copy  of  said  plat  published  herewith  as  Appendix  M. 

With  a  view  of  collecting  for  convenience  of  future  use  all 
the  data  available  on  this  subject,  the  writer  requested  the  Cor- 
poration Counsel  for  a  copy  of  his  opinion  on  the  riparian  rights 
of  Lake  Calumet  for  publication  in  this  report.  Said  opinion  is 
as  follows : 

Edward  J.  Brundage, 
Corporation  Counsel. 
CITY  OP  CHICAGO 
LAW  DEPARTMENT 

OFFICE  OF  THE  CORPORATION  COUNSEL 

June  20,  1910. 

Eon.  Theodore  K.  Long.  Alderman  Sixth  Ward. 

Dear  Sir:  Enclosed  herewith  I  hand  you  council  order  authorizing 
the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission  to  obtain  a  survey  and  make  an 
investigation  of  the  encroachments  upon  Calumet  Lake,  and  for  an  appro- 
priation in  the  sum  of  $1,200.00  for  this  purpose.  This,  no  doubt,  will 
answer  the  purpose  of  bringing  this  matter  properly  before  the  City  Council. 
I  return  herewith  an  opinion  from  this  office,  addressed  to  Hon.  Charles 
E.  Reading,  Alderman  of  the  Thirty-third  Ward,  and  a  communication  from 
the  General  Land  Office  to  said  alderman. 

Very  truly  yours, 

George  E.  Dierssen, 
Assistant  Corporation  Counsel. 


Edward  J.  Brundage, 
Corporation  Counsel. 
CITY  OF  CHICAGO 
LAW  DEPARTMENT 

office  of  the  corporation  counsel 

May  24,  1910. 

in  be  navigability  of  riparian  rights  on,  and  pollution  of  waters  of,  lake 

CALUMET 

Eon.  Charles  E.  Reading,  Alderman  Thirty-third  Ward. 

Dear  Sir:  Your  several  Inquiries  regarding  Lake  Calumet  have  been 
duly  considered,  together  with  letter  submitted  from  the  U.  S.  General  Land 
Office  under  date  of  May  7,  1910,  and  in  reference  thereto  I  beg  to  advise  you 
as  follows: 


29a 

First:     As  to  navigability  of  Lake  Calumet. 

Whether  a  lake  is  navigable  is  generally  a  question  of  fact 

People  V.  Board  of  Supervisors,  122  111.  App.  40. 

And  depends  upon  whether  used,  or  susceptible  of  being  used,  in  its 
ordinary  condition,  as  a  highway  for  commerce  over  which  trade  and  travel 
are  or  may  be  conducted  in  the  customary  modes  of  trade  and  travel  on 
water. 

Schulte  V.  Warren,  218  111.  108. 

From  inquiries  made  on  this  point  I  should  say  that  Lake  Calumet  is  a 
navigable  body  of  water,  although  the  question  has  never  been  determined 
by  the  courts. 

Second:     As  to  the  eight  of  shore  owners  to  fill  in  Lake  Calumet. 

Lake  Calumet  was  surveyed  by  the  United  States  Government  as  a  mean- 
dered lake,  that  is,  the  lines  of  the  shore  lands  run  to  the  water's  edge. 

The  waters  on  meandered  lakes,  and  the  land  covered  by  them,  are  held 
by  the  State  in  trust  for  all  the  people,  and  a  grant  of  the  shore  land  there- 
fore conveys  to  the  water's  edge  with  riparian  rights,  that  is,  the  right  of 
natural  accretions  and  natural  relictions.  Reliction  is  the  gradual  reces- 
sion of  the  waters  of  a  meandered  lake  and  gives  the  shore  owners  the  right 
to  the  new  land  by  following  the  recession  of  waters  to  their  edge. 

Fuller  V.  Shedd,  161  111.  462. 

But  no  shore  owner  can  take  away  from  the  State  its  title  to  the  former 
bed  of  the  lake,  unless  he  can  establish  by  proof  that  the  dry  land  was 
formed  by  the  receding  of  the  water  from  his  own  shore  line. 

Hammond  v.  Shepard,  186  111.  235. 

It  appears  that  the  drainage  of  the  whole  Calumet  district  and  the 
dredging  and  opening  to  navigation  of  the  Calumet  River  have  tended  to 
lower  the  level  of  Lake  Calumet  so  that  by  the  reliction  of  the  waters  the 
submerged  lands  adjoining  the  shore  have  for  a  considerable  distance  become 
dry  land.  Land  made  in  this  way  is  the  property  of  the  adjoining  shore 
owner.  But  lands  made  or  recovered  in  any  other  way  than  by  natural 
accretion  or  natural  reliction  are  made  illegally  and  are  a  trespass  upon 
the  rights  of  the  State  and  may  be  recovered  by  a  proceeding  in  the  name 
of  the  State  by  the  Attorney  General  or  State's  Attorney. 

Third:     As  to  pollution  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Calumet. 

Sections  1002  to  1006  of  the  1905  Municipal  Code  of  Chicago  prohibit  the 
pollution  of  the  waters  of  the  harbor  of  Chicago,  but  the  definition  given  in 
Section  969  of  the  harbor  of  Chicago  does  not  include  Lake  Calumet,  and 
the  sections  referred  to  are,  therefore,  not  applicable.  The  pollution  of  the 
waters  of  Lake  Calumet,  however,  would  constitute  a  nuisance  under  sections 
1201  to  1209  of  the  Revised  Municipal  Code  and  the  enforcement  of  these 
sections  is  the  duty  of  the  Commissioner  of  Health.  An  action  for  such 
pollution  could  also  be  brought  under  the  State  law  on  nuisances,  paragraph 
221  of  the  Criminal  Code,  and  would  be  in  charge  of  the  State's  Attorney. 

CONCLUSION 

If  any  considerable  filling  has  been  done  in  Lake  Calumet,  it  would  be 
advisable  to  have  a  survey  of  the  shore  line  made  and  an  investigation 
started  to  show  by  whose  acts  and  under  what  circumstances  additional 
lands  have  been  made. 

Yours  truly, 

Adolph  Tbatjb, 
Assistant  Corporation  Counsel. 
Approved: 

Edward  J.  Brundage, 
Corporation  Counsel. 


294 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR 

GENEBAL   LAND   OFFICE. 

Washington,  May  7,  1910. 
Address  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office. 

BELATIVE  TO  ENCEOACHMENTS   ON    LAND  IN   CALUMET   LAKE,   ILLINOIS,   BY  PARTIES. 

Mr.  Chas.  E.  Reading,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

Sib:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  dated  March  23,  1910,  stating  that 
you  have  been  informed  that  a  survey  made  between  May  20  and  August  2, 
1879,  by  J.  B.  Bausman,  U.  S.  "Government  Engineer,"  shows  that  said  lake 
is  navigable,  and  you  ask  this  office  to  inform  you,  if  possible,  who  would  be 
In  authority  to  prevent  encroachments  on  said  lake. 

In  reply,  you  are  advised  that  upon  examining  the  records  in  this  office, 
a  report  is  found  on  file  by  J.  B.  Bausman,  Special  Examiner,  on  the  survey 
of  the  area  embraced  within  the  original  meander  line  of  said  lake  in  T.  37 
N.,  R.  14  E.,  3rd  P.  M.,  Illinois,  by  Alexander  Wolcott,  under  his  contract 
bearing  date  of  September  13,  1877  (which  survey  was  rejected  by  this 
office  March  23,  1880),  in  which  report  it  is  shown  that  the  conclusion  was 
reached  that  said  lake  "is  a  permanently  navigable  body  of  water." 

The  report  of  Mr.  Bausman  formed  the  basis  of  the  rejection  of  said 
survey  by  this  office,  upon  the  ground  that  the  lands  were  not  public  lands 
of  the  United  States,  and  this  being  so,  I  am  unable  to  give  you  any  advice 
as  to  who  would  be  in  authority  to  prevent  encroachments  upon  said  lake. 

"Very  respectfully, 

Fbed  Dennett, 

Commissioner. 


July  28,  1910. 

Eon.  Edward  J.  Brundage,  Corporation  Counsel,  City  Hall,  200  Randolph 
Street,  Chicago,  III. 

My  Dear  Brundage:  Referring  to  your  opinion  dated  May  24,  1910, 
addressed  to  Hon.  Charles  E.  Reading,  "In  Re  Navigability  of  Riparian 
Rights  on,  and  Pollution  of  Waters  of.  Lake  Calumet,"  I  wish  to  advise  you 
that  the  Council  at  its  last  meeting,  July  18,  1910,  appropriated  $500.00  addi- 
tional for  our  committee  to  be  used  for  the  purposes  of  investigation  and  for 
instituting  proper  proceedings  in  connection  with  "made  lands"  in  the  Lake 
Calumet  region.  This  appropriation  was  allowed  by  the  Finance  Committee 
In  pursuance  of  request  of  Alderman  Reading  and  the  writer  for  $1,200.00 
for  this  work;  and  while  the  appropriation  is  too  small,  I  take  it  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  cover  the  preliminary  investigations  and  to  start  the  litiga- 
tion. I  would  suggest,  therefore,  that  steps  be  taken  at  as  early  a  date  as 
practicable  to  file  suits  covering  such  parts  of  the  Calumet  territory  as  in 
the  opinion  of  your  office  may  be  recoverable. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 

The  following  ordinance  reported  out  of  the  Committee  on 
Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges,  October  22,  1912,  was  unani- 
mously passed  by  the  City  Council  October  28,  1912 : 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago: 

Section  1.  That  Section  1907  of  the  Chicago  Code  of  1911,  be  and  the 
same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

1097.  Definitions.  The  harbor  shall  consist  of  the  Chicago  River  and 
Its  branches  to  their  respective  sources,  the  Ogden  canal,  all  slips  adjacent  to 


295 

and  connecting  with  the  Chicago  River,  the  Calumet  River  and  all  slips  con- 
necting therewith,  the  waters  of  Lake  Calumet,  all  slips  and  basins  con- 
necting therewith,  and  all  piers,  breakwaters  and  permanent  structures 
therein,  the  Drainage  Canal,  all  piers  and  basins  and  the  waters  of  Lake 
Michigan,  including  all  breakwaters,  piers  and  permanent  structures 
therein,  for  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  the  shore  between  the  north  and 
south  lines  of  the  city  extended.  The  harbor  as  herein  defined  shall  be  sub- 
ject to  the  control  of  the  Harbor  Master,  under  the  supervision  and  according 
to  the  directions  of  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Works,  and  the  use  thereof 
shall  be  governed  by  the  ordinances  of  the  city.  The  words  "vessels," 
"crafts"  and  "floats"  shall  be  deemed  to  include  every  kind  of  sailing,  steam 
or  other  vessel  lying  or  floating  in  or  navigating  the  harbor. 

Section  2.  This  ordinance  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and 
after  its  passage,  approval  and  publication. 

The  foregoing  ordinance  amends  the  Chicago  Code  by  in- 
cluding within  the  meaning  of  the  Chicago  Harbor,  the  Calumet 
Eiver  and  the  waters  of  Lake  Calumet,  thus  extending  the  pow- 
ers of  the  Chicago  harbor  police  over  the  waters  of  said  lake  and 
river  and  vesting  the  city  with  power  to  checkmate  the  unwar- 
ranted and  unlawful  trespasses  that  have  been  carried  on  these 
many  years  by  the  rapacious  land  grabbers  along  the  shores  of 
Lake  Calumet. 

In  this  connection,  it  should  be  noted  that  appropriate  action 
ought  to  be  taken  by  the  proper  authorities  for  the  reclamation 
of  the  shores  of  Lake  Calumet  and  the  Calumet  River.  As  ap- 
pears from  the  writer's  letter  above,  dated  July  28,  1910,  it  was 
then  suggested  to  Corporation  Counsel  Brundage  that  steps  be 
taken  to  file  suits  for  the  reclamation  of  the  Calumet  territory. 
No  suits  have  as  yet  been  filed  in  this  behalf.  The  matter  was 
again  recently  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Corporation  Coun- 
sel, as  shown  by  the  following  correspondence : 

Chicago,  November  7,  1912. 
Hon.  William  H.  Sexton,  Corporaton  Counsel,  Chicago,  III. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Sexton:  On  July  28,  1910,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  the  then 
Corporation  Counsel,  Edward  J.  Brundage,  a  copy  of  which  is  enclosed  here- 
with. And  I  beg  at  this  time  to  renew  my  suggestion  therein  made,  to  the 
effect  that  steps  be  taken  to  file  suits  for  the  reclamation  of  the  shores  of 
Lake  Calumet  and  the  Calumet  River. 

I  enclose  copy  of  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel  of  May  24,  1910, 
copy  of  blue  print  of  survey  of  Lake  Calumet  made  by  our  Commission,  and 
copy  of  letter  of  May  7,  1910,  from  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
OflBce  to  Mr.  Charles  E.  Reading,  which  explain  themselves. 

Will  you  kindly  give  this  matter  your  early  attention,  and  advise  me 
as  to  your  conclusion  with  reference  thereto? 

Very  truly  yours, 

Thbodobe  K.  Long. 


296 

CITY  OF  CHICAGO 
LAW  DEPARTMENT 

November  13,  1912. 

IN    RE    PROPOSED    RECLAMATION    SUITS    ON    LAKE    CALUMET 

Eon.    Theo.   K.   Long,    Chairman,   Lake   Shore   Reclamation    Commission, 
Chicago. 

Dear  Sir:  Replying  to  your  letter  of  November  7,  1912,  addressed  to 
Hon.  William  H.  Sexton,  Corporation  Counsel,  and  suggesting  that  steps  be 
taken  to  file  suits  for  the  reclamation  of  the  shores  of  Lake  Calumet  and 
the  Calumet  River,  I  beg  to  state  as  follows: 

1st:  The  Calumet  River  and  Lake  Calumet  have  been  created  a 
harbor  district,  known  as  Harbor  District  No.  4,  by  ordinance  passed  by 
the  City  Council  November  20,  1911,  under  authority  of  the  Harbor  Act 
of  June  10,  1911. 

On  October  22,  1912,  the  City  Council  of  Chicago  passed  an  amendment 
to  section  1097  of  the  Chicago  Code  of  1911,  including  within  the  defini- 
tion of  the  harbor  of  Chicago  and  its  harbor  area,  the  waters  of  Lake  Calu- 
met, all  slips  and  basins  connecting  therewith,  and  all  piers,  breakwaters  and 
permanent  structures  therein.  The  Calumet  River  and  all  slips  connect- 
ing therewith  have  heretofore  constituted  part  of  the  harbor  under  the 
provisions  of  said  section  1097. 

2d:  The  City  of  Chicago  has  caused  a  survey  of  the  shores  of  Lake 
Calumet  to  be  made,  which  was  completed  November  29,  1910.  This  sur- 
vey was  confined  to  the  location  of  a  shore  line  and  a  meander  line.  No 
specific  tracts  were  located,  nor  were  any  areas  computed,  the  title  to 
which  is  claimed  to  be  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  many  of  the  facts  neces- 
sary to  the  location  of  former  submerged  tracts,  which  have  been  illegally 
reclaimed  and  are  now  in  the  possession  of  shore  owners,  are  not  in  the 
possession  of  this  department.  It  is,  therefore,  apparent  that  much  investi- 
gation and  considerable  surveying  would  have  to  be  done  before  the  proper 
data,  upon  which  to  base  suits  for  the  recovery  of  these  disputed  lands, 
could  be  obtained. 

3d:  On  September  30,  1912,  the  City  Council  of  Chicago  passed  a  resolu- 
tion instructing  its  Committee  on  Judiciary,  State  Legislation,  Elections  and 
Rules  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  Corporation  Counsel  and  to  proceed 
at  once  with  the  drafting  of  necessary  bills  to  cure  defects  in  the  Harbor 
Act  of  June  10,  1911,  and  to  procure  additional  harbor  legislation.  The 
drafting  of  such  bills  has  been  assigned  to  the  writer,  and  as  a  part  of  the 
additional  legislation  to  be  procured,  I  have  been  instructed  to  include 
appropriate  provisions  which  would  be  applicable  to  the  Calumet  River  and 
Lake  Calumet  for  the  settlement  of  all  questions  of  riparian  rights  and  the 
adjustment  of  title  to  "made  lands"  and  the  location  of  boundary  lines  be- 
tween the  shore  owners  and  the  State  of  Illinois,  or  the  City  of  Chicago 
as  its  corporate  municipal  representative.  It  is  the  intention  to  have  the 
aforesaid  bills  introduced  in  the  State  Legislature  in  January,  1913,  imme- 
diately after  it  convenes  and  organizes. 

As  is  well  known,  there  is  an  insistent  demand  for  harbor  develop- 
ment in  Lake  Calumet,  it  being,  claimed  that  this  is  the  logical  site  for  the 
great  industrial  harbor  of  Chicago.  If  the  aforesaid  harbor  legislation  can 
be  procured,  it  is  my  belief  that  it  will  provide  a  more  immediate  and 
definite  settlement  of  the  "made  land"  questions  involved  than  the  bringing 
of  information  suits  on  the  relation  of  the  Attorney  General  .and  the  State's 
Attorney,  for  the  reason  that  litigation  of  this  character  is  apt  to  be  long 
drawn  out  and  subject  to  delays,  and  if  in  the  end  successful  the  title  would 
be  decreed  to  be  in  the  State  of  Illinois  and  legislation  by  the  State  Legisla- 
ture would  still  be  necessary  before  any  portion  of  these  "made  lands"  could 
be  devoted  to  harbor  purposes. 

For  the  reasons  above  set  forth,  I  am  therefore  of  the  opinion  that 
efforts  for  the  solution  of  the  questions  involved  should  be  concentrated  along 


297 

the  lines  of  procuring  the  legislation,  above  referred  to,  and  that  the  bring- 
ing of  suits  in  behalf  of  the  people  by  the  Attorney  General  and  the  State's 
Attorney  should  be  postponed  at  least  until  the  outcome  of  such  efforts  is 
known. 

Respectfully  yours, 

James  G.  Skinnee, 
Assistant  Corporation  Counsel. 
approved: 
Wm.  H.  Sexton, 

Corporation  Counsel. 

Pursuant  to  the  recommendation  of  the  Corporation  Coun- 
sel above,  the  writer  has  requested  that  a  proper  bill  be  pre- 
pared for  presentation  to  the  Legislature  at  its  next  session,  and 
whether  this  important  matter  is  settled  by  legislation  or  litiga- 
tion, it  is  evident  that  the  shore  lands  of  Lake  Calumet  must  be 
eventually  reclaimed  by  the  city  for  harbor  purposes.  Their 
reclamation,  while  not  necessarily  a  part  of  the  ''Chicago  Plan," 
is  even  more  essential  in  many  respects  than  the  reclamation  of 
some  parts  of  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan;  because  within  the 
borders  of  Lake  Calumet  and  its  river  outlet  there  must  be 
eventually  developed  Chicago's  greatest  commercial  and  indus- 
trial harbor, — a  harbor  so  equipped  and  proportioned  that  it  will 
satisfy  the  demands  of  a  commerce  as  varied  as  humanity  and 
as  extensive  as  our  continent. 

Eespectfully  submitted, 

Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission, 

By  Theodere  K.  Long, 

Chairman. 


VI. 

APPENDICES 


1 


301 


APPENDIX  A. 

1.  Letter  of  Theodore  K.  Long  of  August  17,  1909,  to  the 

Corporation  Counsel. 

2.  Opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel  on  Lake  Shore  Own- 

ership. 

Chicago,  August  17,  1909. 

Eon.  Edward  J.  Brundage,  Corporation  Counsel,  City  Hall,  City: 

Dear  Mr.  Brundage:  Referring  to  my  conversation  with  you  several  days 
ago,  I  beg  to  request  on  behalf  of  the  Council  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches 
and  Recreation  Piers  that  you  furnish  to  us  an  opinion  covering  the  following 
several  points  relating  to  matters  now  pending  before  said  committee: 

1.  It  is  proposed  to  establish  a  municipal  bathing  beach  and  recreation 
pier  at  Montrose  Avenue;  the  bathing  beach  to  occupy  the  lake  shore  northerly 
from  Montrose  Avenue  along  land  now  owned  by  the  city,  and  the  pier  to  extend 
out  into  lake  from  the  stub  end  of  Montrose  Avenue,  said  pier  to  be  approxi- 
mately of  the  same  width  as  said  avenue. 

2.  It  is  proposed  to  establish  a  municipal  bathing  beach  and  recreation  pier 
at  or  near  Twenty-second  Street,  south;  the  bathing  beach  to  occupy  the  shore 
southward  from  Twenty-second  Street  to  Twenty-fifth  Street,  if  possession  of  the 
beach  can  be  obtained;  and  the  pier  to  extend  out  into  lake  from  the  stub  end  of 
Twenty-second  Street.  It  is  proposed  to  arrange  at  this  point  for  a  dump  for  the 
waste  material  resulting  from  excavation  and  like  causes;  this  material  to  be 
anchored  by  proper  and  suitable  retaining  walls  or  piles,  so  as  to  extend  Twenty- 
second  Street  into  the  lake,  thus  forming  a  quasi  peninsula,  or  pier,  which,  in 
time,  will  evolve  into  a  resort  capable  of  affording  accommodations  for  boating, 
bathing  and  other  pleasures  for  vast  numbers  of  Chicago  citizens. 

3.  It  is  proposed  to  arrange  a  similar  dumping  place  off  Fifty-first  Street, 
south,  so  as  to  create  at  that  point  a  neck  of  land  extending  out  into  the  lake  to 
connect  with  Morgan  Reef,  the  latter  being  a  large  "shallows"  over  which  the 
water  varies  in  depth  from  four  to  ten  feet,  and  covering  approximately  a  hun- 
dred acres.  Our  plans  contemplate  the  use  of  said  Morgan  Reef  as  a  dumping 
ground  until  it  is  raised  above  the  present  surface  of  Lake  Michigan  and  is 
converted  into  a  beautiful  island  park  or  recreation  ground. 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing  our  committee  desires  to  be  advised 

First:  As  to  what  rights,  if  any,  the  City  of  Chicago  has  to  install,  make 
and  establish  the  aforesaid  proposed  bathing  beaches,  improvements  and  dumping 
grounds,  and  from  what  government,  authority,  organization,  park  commission 
or  municipality  (if  any)  permission  must  be  first  had  and  obtained  to  enable  the 
city  to  carry  out  the  improvements  contemplated. 

Second:  As  to  whether  under  the  several  Acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  State  of  Illinois  enlarging  the  powers  of  the  several  park  commissions  with 
reference  to  the  lake  front  submerged  lands  (Act  approved  May  14,  1903,  in 
force  July  1,  1903,  and  Act  approved  May  2,  1907,  in  force  July  1,  1907,  and  other 
Acts,  if  any)  the  title  to  the  submerged  lands  at  the  points  designated  is  vested  in 
the  several  park  commissions;  and 

Third:  As  to  whether  the  lands  so  made  by  filling  in,  as  proposed  in  the 
improvements  contemplated,  by  the  extension  of  street  ends  into  and  over  the 
lake,  will,  when  completed,  belong  to  the  several  park  commissions  or  to  the  City 
of  Chicago;   and 

Fourth:  Whether  lands  made  by  natural  accretion  adjacent  to  filled-in  lands, 
and  being  part  thereof,  will  belong  to  the  city  or  to  the  park  commissions  or  to 
the  shore  owner  in  front  of  whose  lands  such  accretions  are  formed.  This  last 
or  third  alternative  should  be  divided  into  (a)  accretions  formed  in  front  of  a 
shore  owner,  but  connected  with  his  present  shore,  and  (b)  accretions  formed  in 


302 

front  of  a  shore  owner  but  separated  from  his  present  shore  line  by  a  stretch  of 
water. 

Generally  speaking,  the  committee  desires  such  advice,  information  and  sug- 
gestion from  your  department  with  reference  to  the  foregoing  as  will  enable  it  to 
carry  out  intelligently  the  proposed  plans  for  bathing  beaches  and  amusement 
piers  and  at  the  same  time  fully  protect  and  save  harmless  the  city  in  reference 
to  its  legal  rights  in  connection  therewith. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  the  committee  desires  to  be  advised  specially 
with  reference  to  certain  lands  formed  and  being  formed  by  accretion  at  Fifty- 
first  Street,  south,  immediately  north  of  Fifty-urst  Street  and  east  of  the  Chicago 
Beach  Hotel.  These  lands  are  all  claimed  by  private  parties,  but  if  the  city  owns 
the  stub  end  of  Fifty-first  Street  and  the  small  park  adjacent  thereto,  and  if  the 
accretions  belong  to  the  shore  owner,  then  it  would  seem  that  the  city  would  be 
entitled  to  all  the  accretions  at  Fifty-first  Street,  south  of  an  imaginary  line 
extended  into  the  lake  at  right  angles  with  the  general  direction  of  the  original 
shore  line  at  that  point;  said  imaginary  line  to  start  from  the  point  where  the 
north  line  of  Fifty-first  Street  bisects  said  original  shore  line.  This  would  give 
the  city  a  considerable  portion  of  the  accretions  now  formed  and  being  formed  at 
Fifty-first  Street,  and  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  our  committee  in  arranging  a 
connection  at  this  point  with  Morgan  Reef  and  the  filling  in  thereof. 

The  writer  offers  his  apologies  for  the  length  of  this  communication,  and 
presents  as  his  only  excuse  therefore  the  great  importance  to  the  public  of  the 
questions  herein  presented. 

Yours  very  truly, 

(Signed)   Theodobe  K.  Long, 
For  the  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches  and  Amusement  Piers. 


September  23,  1909. 

To  the  Honorable,  The  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches  and  Recreation  Piers  of 
the  City  Council: 

Gentlemen, — Under  date  of  August  17,  1909,  Hon.  Theodore  K.  Long  re- 
quested the  Corporation  Counsel  to  furnish  a  leg-al  opinion  covering  several  mat- 
ters then  pending  before  your  committee,  which  request  was  subsequently  as- 
signed to  me  for  consideration,  and  after  some  weeks  of  investigation  and  study 
of  the  various  questions  presented  by  your  committee,  I  have  the  honor  to  advise 
you  in  the  premises  as  follows: 

1.     As  to  jurisdiction  over  submerged  lands. 

By  virtue  of  Section  71,  Par.  10,  of  the  Cities  and  Villages  Act,  the  City*  of 
Chicago  has  jurisdiction  upon  all  waters  within  or  bordering  upon  the  city  to  the 
extent  of  three  miles  beyond  the  city  limits;  that  this  Act  did  not  grant  to  the 
city  ownership  of  the  submerged  lands,  is  clearly  shown  by  the  case  of  Bliss  vs. 
Ward.  198  111.  104,  in  which  the  court  said: 

"The  Act  of  1863,  reducing  the  charter  of  the  City  of  Chicago  to  one  act  and 
extending  the  corporate  limits  of  the  city  so  as  to  include  the  waters  and  body  of 
Lake  Michigan  for  a  distance  of  one  mile  east  of  the  shore,  did  not  transfer  title 
to  the  submerged  lands  within  such  extended  limits  to  the  City  of  Chicago." 

Of  course,  the  court  would  doubtless,  if  the  question  were  presented,  reach 
the  same  conclusion  in  considering  the  Cities,  Towns  and  Villages  Act  (the  Act  of 
1872),  which  superseded  the  City  Charter  of  1863,  wherever  the  same  was  re- 
pugnant thereto  or  inconsistent  therewith. 

In  many  of  the  Illinois  decisions,  the  title  of  the  State  in  all  of  the  sub- 
merged lands  under  Lake  Michigan  lying  within  the  boundary  limitations  of  Illi- 
nois, has  been  announced  and  affirmed. 

"The  law  seems  to  be  well  settled  in  the  different  States  that  the  title  to  and 
dominion  over  lands  covered  by  tide-waters  within  the  boundaries  of  the  several 
States  belongs  to  each  State  wherein  they  are  located.  The  State  holds  the  fee  in 
trust  for  the  public.  The  doctrine  established  in  regard  to  lands  covered  by 
tide-waters,  has  also  been  held  applicable  to  lands  bounded  by  fresh  water  on 
our  large  lakes.  As  early  as  1860  the  question  arose  in  this  State  in  regard  to 
the  proper  construction  to  be  placed  upon  a  deed  conveying  land  with  Lake  Mich- 


I 


303 

igan  as  a  boundary  line,  and  in  disposing  of  this  question,  this  court,  in  Sea- 
man V.  Smith,  24  111.  521,  held  that  a  grant  giving  the  ocean  or  a  bay  as  the 
boundary  line  by  the  common  law  carries  it  down  to  the  ordinary  high-water 
mark;  that  the  point  at  which  the  tide  usually  ebbs  and  flows  is  the  boundary  of 
a  grant  to  the  shore,  and  that  the  rule  which  governed  in  regard  to  lands  on  tide- 
water applied  to  lands  on  our  great  lakes.  .  .  The  State  holds  the  title  in  trust 
in  its  sovereign  capacity  for  the  entire  people.  .  .  The  governmental  power  of 
the  State  over  these  lands  cannot  be  relinquished  or  given  away.  The  trust  im- 
posed upon  the  State  must  be  kept  and  faithfully  observed."  (People  v.  Kirk, 
162  111.  138.) 

2.     As  to  the  right  of  the  State  to  transfer  title  in  submerged  lands. 

Only  in  the  subservience  of  public  interests,  as  distinguished  from  private 
interests,  can  the  alienation  of  submerged  land  in  Lake  Michigan  be  justified. 

During  the  past  twenty  years  numerous  instances  have  arisen  in  which  the 
State  of  Illinois,  by  its  Legislature,  has  vested  portions  of  the  submerged  land 
in  various  municipalities,  and  since  a  consideration  of  these  transfers  is  neces- 
sary to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  questions  presented,  it  is  pertinent  to 
mention  briefly  some  of  the  most  important  legislative  enactments  on  this  subject. 

A.  In  1889  the  General  Assembly  authorized  the  Lincoln  Park  Board  to  ex- 
tend a  driveway  over  and  upon  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  so  long  as  the  same 
did  not  interfere  with  navigation,  commerce  or  the  right  of  fishery.  This  Act 
also  permitted  the  board  to  sell  and  convey  the  submerged  land  lying  between 
the  shore  and  the  westerly  boundary  of  the  proposed  driveway. 

Our  Supreme  Court,  in  the  case  of  People  v.  Kirk  (supra),  sustained  the 
validity  of  the  Act,  and  asserted  that  in  transferring  the  submerged  land  within 
the  limitations  named  in  the  Act,  the  Legislature  had  not  transcended  the 
trust  imposed  upon  it  by  law. 

B.  Under  the  provisions  of  an  Act  passed  by  the  Legislature,  in  force  July 
1,  1895,  the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners  were  granted  title  to  the  submerged 
land  from  the  Chicago  River  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Town  Of  Lake 
View,  upon  the  adoption  of  a  plan  for  the  enlargement  of  Lincoln  Park  and  the 
location  of  a  driveway  over  and  upon  the  body  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  Act  also 
provided  for  a  method  of  acquiring  the  riparian  rights  of  the  various  shore 
owners.  Subsequent  to  the  passage  of  this  Act,  the  Lincoln  Park  Commission- 
ers have,  from  time  to  time,  adopted  plans  for  the  construction  of  the  boule- 
vard or  driveway  from  point  to  point  along  the  north  shore  and  have  had  the 
boundary  line  fixed  by  them,  affirmed  by  a  decree  of  the  Circuit  Court  in  con- 
formity with  the  requirements  of  the  Act. 

Attached  hereto  and  marked  "Exhibit  A"  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  Charles  A. 
Churan,  attorney  for  the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners,  setting  out  in  detail  the 
progress  of  the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners  in  this  matter  to  date;  also  a  plat 
(Marked  Exhibit  "B")  which  shows  the  proposed  extensions  and  work  under  con- 
struction in  the  Lincoln  Park  district. 

Regardless  of  the  fact  that  the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners  had  pro- 
ceeded under  the  authority  of  the  last  mentioned  Act,  and  had  adopted  a  plan  for 
the  occupation  and  improvement  of  the  submerged  lands  lying  between  the  north 
line  of  Grace  Street  extended  to  the  northern  limits  of  the  Town  of  Lake  View, 
Charles  U.  Gordon  attempted  to  construct  a  pier  upon  the  submerged  lands  along 
the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  adjacent  to  Lot  13  of  Simmons  &  Gordon's  Addition 
to  Chicago.  The  Supreme  Court,  in  the  case  of  Gordon  vs.  Winston,  181  111.  338, 
in  aflirming  the  judgment  of  the  Circuit  Court  enjoining  the  construction  of  the 
pier,  held  that  the  Park  Board  had  a  right  to  appropriate  the  submerged  lands 
extending  out  to  the  line  of  navigation,  and  had  the  right  to  enjoin  any  acts 
on  the  part  of  Gordon  which  tended  to  encroach  upon  the  public  domain  and 
gradually  appropriate  such  property  for  his  own  use. 

C.  In  the  year  1899  the  State  granted  to  the  City  of  Chicago  the  land  under 
the  waters  of  the  lake  opposite  Thirty-ninth  Street,  for  the  purpose  of  building 
and  forever  maintaining  thereon  a  pumping  station,  together  with  the  necessary 
Intakes  for  water  with  protecting  piers  therefor.  (See  Kurd's  Revised  Statutes, 
1908,  page  457.) 

D.  By  virtue  of  an  Act  in  force  July  1,  1903,  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
were  authorized  to  extend  parks,  boulevards  or  driveways  bordering  upon  any 


304 

public  waters  in  this  State,  over  and  upon  the  bed  of  such  public  waters,  provided 
that  such  extension  should  not  interfere  with  the  practical  navigation  of  such 
public  waters  for  the  purpose  of  commerce,  without  due  authority  from  the 
proper  official  of  the  United  States  Government  having  control  thereof.  The 
South  Park  Commissioners  were  also  given  the  right  to  connect  parks  within 
their  jurisdiction  by  constructing  a  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway  over  and 
upon  the  bed  of  such  public  waters  and  over  and  upon  any  lands  penetrating 
such  waters. 

Provision  was  made  in  this  Act  for  the  acquisition  of  riparian  rights,  com- 
pensation to  be  made  out  of  the  general  revenue. 

E.  Subsequent  to  the  passage  of  the  last  mentioned  Act,  the  commissioners 
discovered  that  its  provisions  were  incomplete,  and  that  a  different  method  of 
payment  for  the  riparian  rights  should  be  made;  whereupon,  during  the  summer 
of  1907,  a  new  bill  was  presented  to  the  Legislature,  which  became  a  law  on 
July  1,  1907. 

As  in  the  Act  of  1903,  the  statute  of  1907  transfers  title  to  the  submerged 
land  from  Twelfth  Street  to  the  north  line  of  Jackson  Park,  when  the  Park 
Commissioners  shall  have  acquired  the  riparian  rights  of  the  owners  of  any 
lands  along  the  shore  adjoining  such  submerged  lands  and  shall  have  agreed 
upon  a  dividing  line,  which  dividing  line  is  established  or  affirmed  by  the  decree 
of  the   Circuit  Court. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  acts  granting  the  submerged  lands  along  the  north 
shore  and  the  acts  granting  the  submerged  lands  along  the  south  shore  to  the 
various  park  commissioners  differ  materially  in  one  respect,  namely,  the  Lincoln 
Park  Commissioners  acquire  title  upon  the  adoption  of  a  plan  for  the  extension: 
whereas,  the  South  Park  Commissioners  acquire  no  title  until  the  riparian  rights 
have  been  secured. 

My  conclusion  on  this  subject  is  concurred  in  by  Mr.  R.  P.  Hollett,  who  was 
attorney  for  the  South  Park  Commissioners  at  the  time  the  Act  of  1907  was  intro- 
duced in  the  Legislature,  as  well  as  by  Mr.  John  G.  Drennan,  who  assisted  in  the 
drafting  of  the  bill. 

In  passing,  it  might  be  mentioned  that  during  the  last  session  of  the  General 
Assembly  a  bill  was  introduced  and  passed  the  Senate,  which  granted  the  Chi- 
cago Exposition  and  Recreation  Pier  Company  the  right,  power  and  authority  to 
construct,  maintain  and  operate  a  recreation  pier  upon  the  submerged  lands  in 
the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  extending  easterly  perpendicularly  to  the  general 
trend  of  the  shore  of  the  lake  to  Thirty-first  Street  with  proper  and  necessary 
approaches.  The  persons  interested  in  this  bill,  evidently  also  assumed  that  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  had,  at  the  time  of  the  introduction  of  the  bill, 
acquired  no  interest  in  the  submerged  land  at  this  point. 

My  information  is  that  the  South  Park  Commissioners  dropped  the  matter  of 
extending  a  boulevard  over  the  bed  of  the  lake  connecting  Grant  and  Jackson 
Parks  at  the  time  when  His  Honor,  Mayor  Busse,  appointed  the  Special  Harbor 
Commission,  since  the  park  authorities  had  no  desire  to  proceed  with  any  scheme 
which  would  conflict  with  the  plans  of  the  city  in  the  matter  of  the  improvement 
of  the  lake  front. 

F.  In  1903,  the  Legislature  also  granted  and  conveyed  to  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  the  submerged  and  artificially  made  land  lying  within  the  "south 
boundary  line  of  Jackson  Park  and  the  south  line  of  Seventy-ninth  Street,  as  ex- 
tended one  thousand  feet  into  Lake  Michigan,  and  the  line  easterly  of  and 
parallel  with  the  shore  line  of  said  lake"  (and  the  shore  line  of  said  lake),  and 
also  within  the  "north  line  of  Ninety-fifth  Street  extended  to  its  intersection  with 
the  boundary  line  of  Indiana  and  Illinois,  as  extended,  and  the  shore  line  of 
Lake  Michigan." 

3.      EIGHTS  OF  KIPARIAN  OWNERS. 

The  Illinois  courts  have  taken  a  severe  stand  in  protecting  the  position  of  the 
State  in  the  submerged  land  under  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  deci- 
sions bearing  upon  the  rights  of  the  shore  owners  are  so  clear  and  unequivocal 
that  there  can  be  no  dispute  as  to  the  following  propositions: 

(a)  The  riparian  owner  has  the  right  only  to  natural  accretions  and  to 
access  to  the  water  in  front  of  his  property. 


305 

(b)  The  riparian  owner  may  erect  structures  on  his  own  land  to  protect 
it  from  erosion  if  they  do  not  interfere  with  navigation,  but  he  has  no  right  to 
build  piers  or  other  structures  upon  the  submerged  land  to  accomplish  that  pur- 
pose unless  authorized  by  the  State.  (Revell  vs.  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
177  111.  468.) 

Revell,  in  this  case,  attempted  to  build  a  pier  parallel  with  the  shore  line,  but 
beyond  the  water's  edge.  This  the  court  held  was  an  unlawful  and  unwarranted 
act. 

(c)  The  riparian  owner  has  no  right  to  construct  a  pier  out  into  the  lake 
unless  he  owns  the  submerged  land,  or  has  permission  from  one  having  title 
thereto.      (Cobb  vs.  Commrs.  Lincoln  Park,  202   111.  427.) 

(d)  Neither  a  riparian  owner  nor  any  other  person  can  by  filling  in  without 
permission  obtain  title  to  made  land  where  the  title  to  soil  upon  which  the  filling 
was  done  was  in  the  State.  (Farnham  on  Water  Rights,  Vol.  1,  p.  339;  Diedrich 
V.  Northwestern  Union  R.  Co.,  42  Wis.  248.) 

4.  AS   TO  PROPOSED   MONTROSE   AVENUE  BATHING   BEACH. 

On  the  thirteenth  day  of  February,  1906,  the  commissioners  of  Lincoln  Park, 
by  resolution,  adopted  a  plan  showing  lines  running  along  the  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan  from  the  north  line  of  Sheridan  Road  (Byron  Street),  extended,  to  the 
north  line  of  Montrose  Avenue,  extended,  said  line  having  been  agreed  upon  as 
dividing  or  boundary  line  between  the  streets  named  above  and  the  land  acquired 
by  the  Commissioners  of  Lincoln  Park  under  the  aforesaid  Act  of  1895. 

The  commissioners  of  Lincoln  Park,  by  resolution,  passed  on  the  thirteenth 
day  of  January,  1909,  duly  resolved  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  commission- 
ers of  Lincoln  Park  in  establishing  said  line  to  dedicate  to  the  public  as  public 
streets  Montrose  Avenue,  Marquette  Terrace,  Kenesaw  Terrace,  Buena  Avenue, 
Gordon  Terrace,  Bittersweet  Place  and  Irving  Park  Avenue,  as  extended  eastward 
to  said  permanent  boundary  line. 

The  City  of  Chicago  by  ordinance  duly  passed  on  March  8,  1909,  Council 
Proceedings,  page  3172,  accepted  the  aforesaid  dedication. 

Thus,  there  can  be  no  controversy  between  the  city  and  the  Lincoln  Park 
Commissioners  as  to  the  eastern  boundary  line  of  Montrose  Avenue.  The  city  also 
owns  the  lot  lying  north  of  Montrose  Avenue  (including  the  shore  front  and 
riparian  rights)  upon  which  is  located  the  Lake  View  Pumping  Station.  This 
lot  is  230  feet  in  width  along  the  shore  and  the  street  is  sixty-six  feet  in  width. 

The  method  of  procedure  which  should  be  adopted  prior  to  extending  the  pier 
into  the  lake  at  this  point,  will  be  considered  below. 

5.  AS  TO  THE  TWENTY-SECOND  STREET  BEACH  AND  PIERS. 

I  am  credibly  informed  that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  has  ac- 
quired all  the  riparian  rights  north  of  Fiftieth  Street  and  south  of  Twelfth 
Street,  excepting  that  portion  of  the  lake  shore  which  lies  between  the  center 
line  of  Twenty-second  Street  and  a  line  produced  into  the  lake  from  a  point  160 
feet  south  of  Twenty-fifth  Street,  which  last-mentioned  piece  of  land  is  part  of 
the  subject-matter  of  the  committee's  inquiry. 

On  July  27,  1852,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  acquired  from  Ste- 
phen A.  Douglas  the  property  upon  which  is  now  located  its  right  of  way  along 
the  lake  shore  between  the  last-mentioned  points,  the  deed  expressly  reserving 
in  Douglas  all  title,  right  and  ownership  to  land  and  water  between  the  eastern 
line  of  said  railroad  and  the  center  of  Lake  Michigan  and  bounded  by  due  east 
lines  drawn  from  the  north  and  south  ends  of  said  tracts  of  land.  A  copy  of  this 
deed  is  hereto  attached  and  marked  "Exhibit  C." 

Mary  Morris  Walker  succeeded  to  all  the  interests  of  the  late  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  and  her  heirs  now  claim  to  be  the  owners  of  this  tract  of  land,  a  plat  of 
which  is  hereto  attached  and  marked  "Exhibit  D."  The  plat  shows  2,240  feet  of 
frontage  of  this  piece  of  property.  Inasmuch  as  the  boundary  of  Twenty-second 
Street  is  the  west  line  of  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  the 
city  could  not  contend  it  had  any  riparian  rights  in  the  submerged  land  easterly 
of  the  said  company's  right  of  way  at  this  point,  since  contact  with  the  water 
Is  necessary  to  the  establishment  of  riparian  rights. 


306 

On  the  question  of  method  of  procedure  for  the  construction  of  a  pier  and 
filling  in  at  this  location,  see  below  under  heading  "Procedure." 

6.      AS  TO  THE  SITUATION  AT  FIFTY-FIRST  STREET. 

The  1-ecords  of  the  Old  Town  of  Hyde  Park  disclose  that  during  the  year 
1871  a  sewer  was  constructed  extending  into  the  lake  at  Fifty-first  Street,  and  a 
contract  was  awarded  for  the  erection  of  a  pier  for  the  protection  of  the  sewer. 

This  pier,  I  learned  from  witnesses — old  residents  of  the  vicinity — was  from 
time  to  time  extended  eastward  along  the  north  line  of  Fifty-first  Street.  The 
reports  as  to  who  extended  the  pier,  running  east  and  west  into  the  lake,  do 
not  all  agree.  It  is  claimed  by  some  that  the  Village  of  Hyde  Park  extended  the 
pier,  others  assert  that  one  James  Morgan  produced  the  result. 

The  records  of  the  Map  Department,  as  well  as  the  reports  of  the  old  resi- 
dents of  the  vicinity,  do,  however,  coincide  as  to  the  location  of  the  shore  line  of 
Lake  Michigan  at  this  point  during  the  last  thirty-five  years.  The  plat  hereto 
attached,  marked  "Exhibit  E,"  shows  the  shore  line  in  1875  to  have  intersected 
Hyde  Park  boulevard  (Fifty-first  Street),  at  a  point  about  fifteen  feet  east  of  the 
east  line  of  East  End  Avenue. 

Old  residents  remember  when  the  waters  at  this  point  washed  up  on  East 
End  Avenue  and  partially  covered  the  northerly  two  hundred  feet  thereof.  The 
present  shore  line  at  Fifty-first  Street  is  about  380  feet  east  of  the  east  line  of 
East  End  Avenue,  as  shown  on  the  two  plats  hereto  attached  and  marked 
"Exhibit  F"  and  "Exhibit  G,"  respectively.  Practically  all  of  the  land  which 
lies  north  of  Fifty-first  Street  and  east  of  a  pier  running  north  and  south  extend- 
ing from  the  east  and  west  pier  above  referred  to  has  been  made  within  the 
last  twenty-five  years. 

In  1882  the  aforesaid  James  Morgan  constructed  this  north  and  south  pier, 
which,  taken  in  connection  with  the  east  and  west  pier,  forms  an  L-shape  pro- 
jection into  the  lake.  Upon  the  construction  of  the  north  and  south  pier,  the 
waves  and  wind  from  the  north  carried  in  vast  quantities  of  sand  which  were  de- 
posited north  of  Fifty -first  Street;  that  Morgan  himself  made  the  greater  part  of 
this  land  cannot  be  successfully" denied.  It  is  said  that  he  would  permit  no  fisher- 
men, excepting  those  in  his  employ,  to  fish  off  the  pier,  nor  would  he  allow  any 
boat  to  land  or  tie  up  at  this  pier.  Shortly  after  the  construction  of  the  pier, 
Morgan  erected  thereon  a  dredge  and  scooped  the  sand  from  the  bottom  of  the 
lake  outside  the  pier,  and  carrying  it  over  the  pier  deposited  it  in  the  inside  shal- 
low water  until,  when  his  work  was  completed,  the  land  extended  out  into  the 
lake  north  from  the  east  and  west  pier  a  distance  of  about  320  feet,  as  shown  on 
the  plat  submitted.  The  excess  sand  he  is  said  to  have  sold,  the  revenue  there- 
from amounting  to  as  much  as  $100  a  day,  according  to  the  reports  of  those 
familiar  with  the  facts. 

Under  the  law,  this  land  which  was  made  by  filling  in,  as  well  as  the  land 
which  was  produced  by  the  action  of  the  waves  in  beating  up  against  the 
Lrshaped  projection,  could  not  become  the  property  of  James  Morgan.  What  nat- 
ural accretions  were  produced  by  the  natural  action  of  the  wind  and  waves  have 
been  so  commingled  with  the  artificial  accretions  and  made  land  as  to  become  a 
part  thereof,  and,  under  the  decisions  above  cited,  the  State  of  Illinois,  undoubt- 
edly, has  become  vested  with  all  the  land  beyond  the  limitations  of  the  bound- 
aries defining  Morgan's  possession  along  Fifty-first  Street  on  the  north  side  of 
Fifty-first  Street  east  of  the  west  line  of  East  End  Avenue  extended. 

7.      AS  TO  THE  RECLAMATION   OF  SUBMERGED  LAND  KNOWN  AS   "MORGAN'S  BEEF." 

If  the  city  were  granted  permission  to  fill  in  the  lake  from  the  shoal  waters 
opposite  Fifty-first  Street,  the  title  to  such  land  would  be  vested  in  the  city  and 
the  shore  owner  would  have  no  claim  or  right  thereto. 

"An  island  arising  in  navigable  water  and  afterward  becoming  joined  to  one 
shore  belongs  to  the  State  and  not  to  the  owner  of  the  shore,  and  the  shore  owner 
will  have  title  only  to  such  portion  of  the  new  land  as  was  formed  by  accretions 
to  his  shore."     (Farnham,  Vol.  1,  p.  276.) 

"If  the  process  is  such  that  an  island  first  arises  from  the  water  and  after- 


307 

ward  becomes  connected  to  the  land  by  the  addition  of  accretions  to  it,  the  title 
to  the  island  will  not  vest  in  the  riparian  owner."     (Farnham,  Vol.  1,  p.  323.) 

"Imperceptible  accumulation  of  soil  upon  the  shores  of  an  island  in  the  great 
lakes  whereby  it  is  enlarged  belongs  to  the  owner,  but  if  the  island  first  arises 
from  the  water  and  afterward  becomes  connected  to  that  of  the  private  pro- 
prietor it  would  not  belong  to  him,  but  to  the  State."  (People  v.  Warner,  116 
Mich.  228.) 

"To  entitle  the  riparian  owner  to  the  land,  the  water  must  begin  to  recede 
from  his  land.  It  is  not  sufficient  if  the  recession  begins  at  some  other  point  and 
finally  reaches  his  land."     (Farnham,  Vol.  1,  p.  322.) 

The  title  of  the  shore  owner  is  not  established  where  it  appears  that  as  the 
waters  receded  they  at  first  left  islands  separated  from  the  land  of  the  shore 
owner  and  from  each  other  by  squales  or  depressions  in  which  the  water  re- 
mained for  some  time  before  the  whole  tract  became  dry."  (Hammond  v.  Shep- 
pard,  186  111.  285.) 

The  riparian  owner  acquires  only  the  natural  accretions  which  are  adjacent 
to  and  in  contact  with  his  shore  boundary. 

8.      POWEB  OF  THE  CITY  TO  ESTABLISH  BATHING  BEACHES. 

Section  6  of  the  Act  of  May  18,  1905,  relating  to  the  City  of  Chicago,  em- 
powers the  city  to  acquire,  by  purchase  or  otherwise,  municipal  parks,  play- 
grounds, public  beaches  and  bathing  places  and  improve,  equip,  maintain  an^ 
regulate  the  same. 

Section  7  of  said  Act  authorizes  the  city  to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent 
domain  by  condemnation  proceedings  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  and  statutes  of  the  State  of  Illinois  for  the  acquirement  of  prop- 
erty useful,  advantageous  or  desirable  for  municipal  purposes,  and  the  procedure 
in  such  cases,  the  statutes  provide,  shall  be,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  like  that  pro- 
vided for  in  the  Act  entitled  "An  Act  Concerning  Local  Improvements,"  approved 
June  4,  1897,  in  force  July  1,  1897,  as  now  or  hereafter  from  time  to  time 
amended. 

It  cannot  be  successfully  maintained  but  that  the  city  if  it  secures  permis- 
sion from  the  proper  authorities,  has  the  power  to  proceed  with  the  establishment 
of  bathing  beaches  and  recreation  piers  as  necessary  adjuncts  thereto. 

PROCEDURE. 


Inasmuch  as  the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners  unquestionably  have  title  to 
the  submerged  land  along  the  north  shore  from  Byron  Street  (now  Sheridan 
Road),  extended,  to  the  north  line  of  Montrose  Avenue,  extended,  their  consent 
should  be  first  had  and  obtained  before  any  improvement  is  made  at  this  point. 
In  my  opinion,  legislative  enactment  in  favor  of  the  city  would  not  be  necessary 
for  the  construction  of  this  pier. 

B 

No  work  should  be  done  by  the  city  at  Twenty-second  Street  without  permis- 
sion (1)  from  the  Government;  (2)  from  the  heirs  of  Mary  Morris  Walker;  (3) 
from  the  South  Park  Commissioners;  and  (4)  from  the  State  of  Illinois. 

Notwithstanding  what  has  been  heretofore  stated,  I  believe  that  the  various 
park  authorities  should  be  consulted  and  their  co-operation  and  permission  se- 
cured, as  a  condition  precedent  to  the  construction  of  any  pier  in  or  over  the 
submerged  land. 

C 

The  City  of  Chicago  should  render  all  possible  assistance  to  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois in  securing  for  the  State  possession  of  the  made  land,  heretofore  mentioned, 
north  of  Fifty-first  Street,  and  upon  the  State  maintaining  its  title  therein,  per- 
mission of  the  Legislature,  as  well  as  of  the  South  Park  authorities,  should  be  ob- 
tained before  any  construction  work  or  filling  in  is  commenced  at  this  point. 


308 


D 

Upon  an  understanding  with  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  a  bill  should  be 
introduced  in  the  Legislature  by  force  of  which  the  city  would  be  authorized  to 
fill  in  the  shallows  opposite  Fifty-first  Street  for  park  and  recreation  and  bathing- 
beach  purposes. 

This  land,  when  filled  in,  as  well  as  the  land  proposed  to  be  made  by  dumping 
at  Twenty-second  Street,  will,  in  the  event  permission  is  secured  from  the  proper 
authorities  for  the  doing  of  the  contemplated  work,  unquestionably  become  the 
property  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 

But  before  any  improvements  in  the  nature  of  piers,  the  making  of  islands 
in  the  lake,  or  other  obstructions  are  commenced,  authority  from  the  Secretary 
of  War  should  be  secured.  Permission  from  the  War  Department  for  the  con- 
struction of  piers  does  not  override  the  rights  of  the  State  in  the  submerged 
land,  but,  however,  amounts  to  a  declaration  by  the  Government  that  the  pro- 
posed structure  will  not  interfere  with  navigation.  (Cobb  v.  Commrs.  Lincoln 
Park,  supra.) 

SUGGESTIONS. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  adding  to  this  communication  that  the  committee  might 
well  co-operate  with  the  Special  Park  Commission  in  urging  the  next  session  off 
the  General  Assembly  to  authorize  the  City  of  Chicago  to  construct  a  pier  at 
Seventy-ninth  Street,  and  to  reclaim  the  large  tract  of  submerged  land,  which, 
when  reclaimed,  will  be  an  imposing  addition,  in  the  way  of  a  park,  to  the  pres- 
ent small  bathing  beach  located  just  south  of  Seventy-ninth   Street. 

I  note,  by  the  daily  papers,  that  Alderman  Jones  proposes  that  the  city 
should  purchase  the  lake  frontage  from  the  south  line  of  the  South  Shore  Coun- 
try Club  property  to  Seventy-ninth  Street  and  should  hold  the  same  for  bathing- 
beach    purposes. 

In  this  connection,  I  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  the  afore- 
mentioned Act  of  1903.  turning  over  all  the  submerged  land  between  the  afore- 
said points  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners.  This  board  should  be  consulted  be- 
fore the  city  proceeds  with  this  project. 

The  writer  would  be  glad  to  attend  the  meeting  of  your  committee  and  ex- 
plain in  detail  any  portion  of  this  communication  which  may  need  elucidation 
or  elaboration. 

Respectfully  submitted, 


Howard  W.  Hayes, 
Assistant  Corporation  Counsel. 


APPROVED : 

Edward  J.  Brundage. 

Corporation  Counsel. 


October  1,  1909. 

Mr.  Howard  W.  Hayes,  Assistant  Corporation  Counsel,  through  Hon.  Edward 
J.  Brundage,  Corporation  Counsel: 

Dear  Sir, — On  behalf  of  the  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches  and  Amuse- 
ment Piers,  I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  opinion  dated  September 
25,  1909,  forwarded  in  response  to  my  letter  of  August  17. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  out  of  place  for  me  to  say  at  this  time  that  our  committee 
desires  to  express  its  appreciation  and  commendation  of  the  vast  amount  of  care, 
investigation  and  painstaking  detail  shown  in  the  preparation  of  the  opinion 
forwarded  to  us. 

Referring  to  subdivision  8  of  said  opinion  entitled  "Power  of  the  City  to 
Establish  Bathing  Beaches,"  you  say: 

"Section  6  of  the  Act  of  May  18,  1905,  relating  to  the  City  of  Chicago,  em- 
powers the  city  to  acquire  by  purchase  or  otherwise,  municipal  parks,  play- 
grounds, public  beaches  and  bathing  places,  and  improve,  equip,  maintain  and 
regulate  the  same. 


309 

"Section  7  of  said  Act  authorizes  the  city  to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent 
domain  by  condemnation  proceedings  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  and  statutes  of  the  State  of  Illinois  for  the  acquirement  of  property- 
useful,  advantageous  or  desirable  for  municipal  purposes,  and  the  procedure  in 
such  cases,  the  statutes  provide,  shall  be,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  like  that  provided 
for  in  the  Act  entitled,  'An  Act  Concerning  Local  Improvements,'  approved  June 
4,  1897, in  force  July  1,  1897,  as  now  or  hereafter  from  time  to  time  amended." 

The  foregoing  quotation  becomes  of  special  importance  to  our  committee 
when  considered  in  connection  with  the  possible  procedure  on  the  part  of  the  city 
to  acquire  by  condemnation  the  riparian  rights  over  such  submerged  lands  as 
may  be  acquired  from  the  State  for  bathing  beaches  and  amusement  piers. 

The  South  Park  Board  not  having  acquired  title  to  submerged  lands  under 
the  Acts  of  1903  and  1907,  it  would  greatly  simplify  the  procedure  of  our  com- 
mittee if,  upon  the  acquisition  of  the  title  to  submerged  lands,  the  city  could,  by 
its  right  of  eminent  domain,  or  otherwise,  condemn  the  riparian  rights  of  adja- 
cent owners   in  the  submerged  lands  so  acquired. 

Our  committee  would  therefore  be  pleased  to  have  you  advise  it  further  and 
more  in  detail  with  reference  to  the  powers  of  the  city  to  condemn  riparian  rights 
in  submerged  lands,  the  title  of  which  lands  may  be  acquired  by  legislative  grant 
or  transfer,  from  the  State  to  the  city. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long, 
For  the  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches  and  Amusement  Piers. 


In  re  POWERS  CONFERRED  UPON  THE  CITY  BY  SECTIONS  6  AND  7  OF  AN 
ACT  RELATING  TO  THE  CITY  OF  CHICAGO. 

October  30,  1909. 

Eon.  Theodore  K.  Long,  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches  and  Recreation  Piers: 

Dear  Sir, — The  Corporation  Counsel  has  directed  me  to  reply  to  your  com- 
munication of  October  1,  1909,  in  which  you  request  an  opinion  upon  the  power 
of  the  city  "to  acquire  by  condemnation  the  riparian  rights  over  submerged 
land."  I  note,  particularly,  that  you  desire  to  be  advised  with  reference  to  the 
extent  of  the  authority  granted  to  the  City  of  Chicago  by  virtue  of  sections  6 
and  7  of  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  May  18,  1905,  relating  to  the  City  of 
Chicago. 

You  will  recall  that  by  virtue  of  Section  6  of  said  Act  the  city  is  empowered 
"to  acquire  by  purchase  or  otherwise,  municipal  parks,  playgrounds,  bathing 
beaches  and  bathing  places"  and  "improve,  equip,  maintain  and  regulate  the 
same";  and  that  by  Section  7  of  said  Act  the  city  is  authorized  "to  exercise  the 
right  of  eminent  domain  by  condemnation  proceedings  in  conformity  with  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution  and  the  statutes  of  the  State  of  Illinois  for  the 
acquirement  of  property  useful,  advantageous  or  desirable  for  municipal  pur- 
poses," the  procedure  to  be  "as  nearly  as  may  be  like  that  provided  in  the  Act 
entitled  'An  Act  Concerning  Local  Improvements',"  etc. 

Prior  to  the  enactment  of  the  aforesaid  statute  the  City  of  Chicago  could  not 
acquire  property  for  the  purposes  aforesaid  by  private  purchase,  inasmuch  as, 
according  to  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  the  case  of  Snydacker  v.  Vil- 
lage of  West  Hammond,  225  111.  154,  such  procedure  "would  lead  to  favoritism, 
corruption,  private  bargain  and  the  exercise  of  improper  influence." 

The  methods  prescribed  by  statute  for  the  acquisition  of  real  estate  by  a 
municipality,  namely,  by  prescription,  dedication  and  condemnation,  are  gen- 
erally exclusive  methods,  hence  the  authority  vested  in  the  city  by  virtue  of  the 
provisions  of  Section  6  is  of  material  advantage  in  the  plan  which  your  commit- 
tee has  under  consideration. 

Section  7  of  the  aforesaid  Act  can  be  of  little  or  no  significance  in  determin- 
ing the  course  to  be  adopted  for  the  acquiring  of  bathing-beach  sites,  for  when 
analyzed  and_  considered,  the  Legislature  has  merely  permitted  the  city  to 
exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain  only  where  property  is  acquired  which  is 


310 

"useful,  advantageous  or  desirable  for  municipal  purposes"  where  the  purpose 
itself  when  carried  out  would  be  a  local  improvement.  A  local  improvement 
within  the  meaning  of  the  statute  is  a  public  improvement  which  by  reason  of 
its  being  confined  to  a  locality,  enhances  the  value  of  adjacent  property  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  benefits  diffused  by  it  throughout  the  municipality. 

I  can  find  no  reported  case  in  which  it  has  been  held  that  the  establishment 
of  a  bathing  beach  is  considered  a  local  improvement. 

I  have  discussed  the  question  herein  involved  at  length  with  Mr.  George  A. 
Mason,  attorney  for  the  Board  of  Local  Improvements,  and  he  concurs  with  me 
in  the  view  that  I  have  taken,  namely,  that  Section  7  above  referred  to  confers  no 
advantage  upon  your  committee  in  its  proposed  plan.  I  must,  therefore,  advise 
your  committee  that,  even  though  the  city  should  acquire  the  title  to  the  sub- 
merged land  under  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  the  only  procedure  by  which 
it  is  empowered  to  secure  either  the  riparian  rights  or  the  real  estate  of  the 
shore  owners  is  by  dedication  or  other  form  of  donation,  lease  or  other  form  of 
contract. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Howard  W.  Hayes, 
Assistant  Corporation  Counsel. 

APPROVED : 

Edward  J.  Brundage, 

Corporation  Counsel. 


{ 


311 


APPENDIX  B. 

1.  ExTEACT  FROM  THE  Rccord-Eerald  of  April  3,  1910,  Chicago 

Beach  Hotel  Suit. 

2.  Extract  from  the  Chicago  News  of  May  19,  1910,  on  the 

FiiiiNG  OF  Sundry  Suits  for  the  Kecovery  of  the  Lake 
Front. 

1.     Extract  from  the  Record  Herald,  April  3,  1910. 

Proceedings  were  begun  yesterday  by  Attorney  General  Stead  and  State's 
Attorney  Wayman  to  oust  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  from  the  made  land  oft 
Fifty-first  Street,  occupied  by  a  part  of  its  buildings. 

This  is  said  to  be  the  first  shot  in  the  warfare  that  the  State  will  begin 
against  all  persons  and  corporations  who  are  occupying  made  lands  along  the 
waters  of  Illinois. 

Much  of  the  credit  for  the  promptness  with  which  the  proceedings  have  been 
brought  against  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel,  Clara  M.  Jones,  the  present  owner  of 
the  property,  and  James  Morgan,  who  owned  the  shore  line  property  when  the 
new  land  was  made,  is  due  to  Aid.  Theodore  K.  Long  and  members  of  the  Lake 
Shore  Reclamation  Commission.  For  months  this  commission  has  been  seeking 
some  means  of  establishing  bathing  beaches  at  various  points  along  Lake  Mich- 
igan, but  it  discovered  that  almost  all  available  lands  had  been  reclaimed  by 
shore  line  owners  and  are  held,  it  is  said,  illegally,  by  them. 

Conferences  have  been  held  with  Corporation  Counsel  Brundage  and  with 

the  attorney  general  and  the  state's  attorney,  the  result  being  the  filing  of  the 

present  suit. 

m  »  *  *  * 

Aid.  Long  took  the  matter  up  with  Attorney  General  Stead  and  obtained 
his  sanction  to  the  plan.    The  city  was  to  furnish  the  evidence  and  the  attorney 
general  and  state's  attorney  were  to  file  the  information  with  the  court. 
***** 

According  to  the  information  obtained  by  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Com- 
mission, James  Morgan,  about  the  time  of  the  big  Chicago  fire,  purchased  a  tract 
of  3.6  acres  of  land  north  of  Fifty-first  Street  and  east  of  the  Illinois  Central 
tracks.  Despite  the  continual  washing  away  of  the  shore  lands  this  particular 
tract  now  contains  11.52  acres,  or  an  increase  of  nearly  eight  acres  in  thirty- 
nine  years. 

Morgan  accomplished  his  feat  of  landmaking  by  simple  methods.  With  a 
pile  driver,  a  crew  of  men,  a  few  boat  loads  of  lumber,  he  built  a  pier  running 
east  from  the  north  side  of  Fifty-first  Street.  This  work  he  continued  from 
year  to  year  until  in  1882  the  pier  had  reached  a  length  of  600  feet.  Then  he 
built  a  pier  to  the  north  from  the  east  end  of  this  east  and  west  pier,  and  by 
1889  he  had  completed  a  north  and  south  pier  720  feet  long. 

During  all  the  time  he  was  building  this  last  pier  Morgan  kept  a  clam  shell 
dredge  busy  picking  up  sand  from  outside  the  end  of  the  pier  and  dumping  it 
inside.  This  was  a  quick  way  of  making  land,  but  that  was  not  the  only  benefit 
Mr.  Morgan  derived,  for  he  sold  much  sand  at  $1  a  load. 

Lease  to  Hotel  Company. 

In  1892,  when  the  World's  Fair  was  nearly  ready  to  open,  Morgan  leased  the 
west  400  feet  of  his  tract  to  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  Company.  This  strip  con- 
tained some  of  the  made  land,  and  one  of  the  provisions  of  the  lease  was  that 
the  lessee  should  have  no  right  to  interfere  with  Morgan  in  the  building  of 
piers  and  filling  and  improving  the  land. 


312 

The  State  holds  that  the  lands  under  Lake  Michigan  belong  to  the  State  of 
Illinois,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State  officers  to  preserve  that  land  for  the 
use  of  the  public,  and  that  no  municipal  or  private  corporation  or  individual 
has  the  right  to  exercise  exclusive  control  or  to  trespass  upon  such  submerged 
lands  by  the  erection  of  piers  or  otherwise  reclaiming  them. 

The  State  authorities  concede  the  right  of  owners  of  shore  lands  to  build 
piers  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  navigation,  but  it  is  contended  that  these 
piers  were  not  intended  to  accommodate  boats,  but  were  built  solely  for  the 
purpose  of  reclaiming  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  and  therefore  the  piers  are  illegal 
and  the  land  illegally  held. 

2.     Extract  from  the  Chicago  News,  May  19,  1910. 

Chicago  launched  its  fight  to  regain  the  South  Side  lake  front  today.  Six 
suits  filed  in  the  Superior  Court  when  it  opened  at  10  a.  m.  are  declared  by 
municipal  officials  to  be  the  most  momentous  litigation  which  the  city  has  ever 
started  for  the  public  welfare,  not  excepting  even  the  traction  cases  which  inval- 
idated the  ninety-nine-year  franchises.  Millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  "made 
land,"  now  among  the  most  valuable  property  in  the  city,  are  involved.  If  the 
city  eventually  is  successful,  the  entire  lake  front  from  East  Sixteenth  to  East 
Fifty-sixth  Streets,  four  and  one-half  miles  long  and  at  some  places  stretching 
back  more  than  500  feet,  will  be  converted  into  a  municipal  park  of  shady  groves, 
bathing  beaches  and  recreation  piers.  Bitter  opposition  from  "squatters,"  power- 
ful corporations  and  influential  families  which  now  hold  the  land  is  assured, 
and  it  will  be  several  years  before  the  courts  can  determine  title  to  the  property. 

The  defendants  are:  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  occupying  the  lake  front 
with  its  right  of  way  continuously  between  East  Sixteenth  and  East  Fifty-first 
Streets. 

Mrs.  Clara  M.  Jones,  sole  surviving  daughter  of  James  Morgan,  occupying 
a  tract  north  of  East  Fifty-first  Street,  part  of  which  is  covered  by  the  Chicago 
Beach  Hotel,  and  another  strip  extending  511  feet  south  from  East  Fifty-fourth 
Street. 

Mrs.  Florence  Pullman  Lowden  and  Mrs.  Harriett  Pullman  Carolan,  heirs 
of  George  M.  Pullman,  occupying  a  narrow  strip  330  feet  long,  north  of  Fifty- 
fourth  Street. 

Fanny  F.  Brega  and  James  Barrell  of  Evanston,  holding  a  large  section,  619 
feet  long,  south  of  the  Morgan  holdings  and  extending  to  East  Fifty-fifth  Street. 

Charles  B.  Shedd,  3812  Michigan  Avenue,  occupying  160,000  square  feet  for 
a  distance  497  feet  south  of  East  Fifty-fifth  Street. 

Mrs.  Augusta  Lehmann,  Emelie  W.  Peacock,  Edward  J.  Lehmann,  Augusta 
E.  Lehmann,  Otto  W.  Lehmann,  Edith  M.  Lehmann  and  Ernst  E.  Lehmann, 
representing  the  Lehmann  estate,  holding  the  remaining  230  feet  of  frontage  to 
East  Fifty-sixth  Street. 

The  South  Park  Commissioners  are  a  party  defendant  to  each  of  the  suits. 

There  is  not  entire  harmony  between  the  two  municipalities  over  the  litigation. 

*  *  *  *  * 

A  prior  suit  against  the  Morgan  estate  relating  to  the  property  on  which 
the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  stands,  was  filed  several  weeks  ago.  The  estate  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Morris  Walker,  widow  of  George  C.  "Walker,  also  eventually  will  be 
brought  in,  as  it  claims  ownership  of  the  frontage  from  East  Twenty-second 
Street  to  200  feet  south  of  East  Twenty-fifth  Street,  an  area  which  is  occupied 
by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad. 

The  suits  were  prepared  in  the  office  of  Edward  J.  Brundage,  Corporation 
Counsel,  by  Adolph  Traub  and  Oscar  H.  Olsen,  two  of  his  assistants.  They  are 
in  the  form  of  quo  warranto  proceedings  and  are  brought  in  the  name  of  the 
State,  the  informations  to  be  filed  in  court  being  signed  by  William  H.  Stead, 
Attorney  General  of  Illinois,  and  by  State's  Attorney  Wayman,  Corporation 
Counsel  Brundage  and  Theodore  K.  Long. 

The  city  administration  has  been  planning  to  get  possession  of  this  and 
other  shore  land  for  many  months. 

*  *  *  •  • 

And  after  the  appointment  of  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission  by 
Mayor  Busse  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  offered  by  Aid.  Theodore  K.  Long 


313 

January  24,  1910,  developments  came  rapidly.  The  commission  consists  of  Aid. 
Long  and  Mr.  Brundage,  Corporation  Counsel,  and  Dr.  W.  A.  Evans,  Health 
Commissioner. 

The  city  law  department  has  been  working  on  the  preparation  of  the  cases 
continuously  for  months.  Surveys  of  the  entire  lake  front  have  been  made. 
Charts  showing  how  the  lake  has  been  filled  in  since  the  shore  lines  were  fixed 
by  surveys  of  June  10,  1879,  and  July  13,  1887,  have  been  prepared.  All  of  the 
immense  holdings  of  the  Lehmann,  Shedd,  Brega  and  Barrell  interests  have 
accrued  from  the  lake  in  the  last  thirteen  years. 

The  Morgan  holdings,  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Jones,  had  a  slower  growth.  James 
Morgan  purchased  for  a  low  price  a  strip  of  land  between  the  Illinois  Central 
tracks  and  the  lake  about  the  time  of  the  big  fire.  It  was  three  and  six-tenths 
acres  then  and  is  eleven  and  fifty-two-hundredths  acres  now,  the  lake  generously 
having  added  seven  and  ninety-one  hundredths  acres.  He  got  busy  with  a  pile 
driver  and  odds  and  ends  of  lumber  until  ten  years  later  he  had  a  pier  600  feet 
long  straight  out  into  the  lake.  Then  he  turned  it  north  and  in  eleven  more 
years  had  extended  it  750  feet  in  that  direction.  In  World's  Fair  time,  twenty 
years  after  his  start,  his  piers  were  catching  sand  so  fast  that  he  sold  $50  worth 
a  day  and  had  enough  left  to  lease  a  site  to  the  Chicago  Beach  Hotel. 


314 


APPENDIX  C. 

Kesolution  of  the  City  Council  Cauling  Upon  the  Governor 
TO  Convene  the  General  Assembly  in  Special  Session. 

The  following  resolution  was  nnanimously  adopted  by  the 
City  Council  at  a  regular  meeting  held  February  19,  1912. 
(Council  Proceedings,  p.  2940.) 

Whereas,  By  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  approved 
May  2,  1907,  the  South  Park  Commissioners  acquired  the  right  to  fill  in  and 
reclaim  the  submerged  lands  in  Lake  Michigan,  between  Grant  Park  and  Jack- 
son Park,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway, 
connecting  said  parks;  and 

Whereas,  Said  South  Park  Commissioners  did  not  under  and  by  the  afore- 
said Act  of  the  Legislature  acquire  full  power  to  condemn  the  riparian  rights 
of  all  shore  owners;  and 

Whereas,  Several  public  hearings  have  recently  been  held  before  the  Com- 
mittee on  Harbors,  Wharves  and  Bridges  of  the  City  Council  of  Chicago,  to  con- 
sider a  certain  contract  for  the  acquisition  of  riparian  rights,  made  and  entered 
into  between  the  said  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company,  December  11,  1911,  and  said  Committee  has  not  considered  fa- 
vorably the  aforesaid  contract;  and 

Whereas,  The  members  of  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago  believe 
that  the  rights  of  the  people  of  the  City  of  Chicago  and  of  the  public  at  large 
can  be  better  protected  and  preserved  by  giving  to  said  South  Park  Commission- 
ers full  power  to  condemn  riparian  rights;  and 

Whereas,  The  members  of  the  City  Council  of  Chicago  believe  that  an 
emergency  exists;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  By  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  that  His  Excellency, 
the  Honorable  Charles  S.  Deneen,  Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  be  and  he 
is  hereby  respectfully  requested  to  convene  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State 
of  Illinois  in  a  special  session  to  amend  the  aforesaid  Act,  approved  May  2,  1907, 
granting  the  said  South  Park  Commissioners  full  power  to  condemn  riparian 
rights. 


315 


APPENDIX  D. 

1.  Extract  from  Chicago  Evening  Post  of  July  13,  1911, 

2.  Important  Conference  Held  at  Union  League  Club  Rela- 

tive TO  Lake  Shore  Lands. 

A  shore  park  link  between  Grant  and  Jackson  Parks,  with  unlimited  bathing 
beach  facilities  for  the  entire  nine-mile  frontage,  took  an  important  step  toward 
realization  today  when  the  main  obstacle  which  has  been  holding  back  the  proj- 
ect gave  prospect  of  being  cleared  away. 

At  a  luncheon  at  noon  today  at  the  Union  League  Club,  attended  by  repre- 
sentatives of  lake  shore  land  claimants,  Chairman  John  Barton  Payne  of  the 
South  Park  Commission,  Mayor  Harrison,  Corporation  Counsel  Sexton  and 
Alderman  T.  K.  Long,  chairman  of  the  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission,  a 
proposition  by  which  all  of  these  bodies  and  individuals  will  work  together  for 
a  public  park  lake  shore  was  discussed  with  almost  unanimous  favor. 

While  none  of  those  present  had  power  to  give  final  sanction  to  the  method 
of  adjustment  proposed,  none  expected  to  encounter  any  difficulty  in  carrying 
out  any  plan  the  wisdom  of  which  they  were  convinced. 

According  to  the  plan  outlined,  the  city's  legal  department  and  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  will  combine  to  procure  the  settlement  out  of  court  of  the 
suits  against  holders  of  lake  frontage  between  Grant  and  Jackson  Parks.  They 
will  take  advantage  of  the  special  empowering  act  passed  by  the  Legislature 
giving  the  park  commissioners  power  to  negotiate  for  riparian  rights  to  land  in 
making  a  connecting  link  between  two  parks,  and  giving  in  return  for  cession 
of  shore  rights  an  agreed  section  of  made  land. 

In  view  of  the  tangle  in  titles  to  most  of  the  shore  land  between  Grant  and 
Jackson  Parks  and  the  city's  suits  now  pending,  most  of  the  claimants  are 
ready  to  get  a  sure  thing  in  land  abutting  any  proposed  lake  front  park,  rather 
than  cling  to  riparian  rights  which  they  may  lose  without  recompense. 

At  the  same  time  the  plan  will  enable  the  public  to  come  into  possession 
of  the  lake  shore  without  necessitating  any  cash  payments. 

Consummation  of  this  plan  will  leave  the  city  free  to  proceed  with  the  pro- 
posed utilization  of  waste  matter  in  constructing  the  lake  shore  park  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  Grant  Park  has  been  built.  This  cannot  be  done  until  the 
title  to  riparian  rights  has  been  taken  from  private  owners. 


316 

APPENDIX  E. 

Extract  from  the  Chicago  Tribune,  November  26,  1911. 

The  following  extract  from  the  Chicago  Tribune,  November 
26,  1911,  presents  a  fair  statement  of  the  progress  of  the  pro- 
ceeding up  to  that  date : 

A  second  boulevard  entrance  to  Chicago's  down  town  district  and  to  Grant 
Park  from  the  south  is  being  planned  for  completion  by  June,  1913. 

This  information  was  given  yesterday  after  the  South  Park  Commission  had 
reached  an  agreement  with  city  authorities  regarding  the  use  of  the  Lake  Mich- 
igan shore  between  Grant  Park  and  Thirty-first  Street.  The  South  Park  Com- 
mission wishes  the  city  to  modify  provisions  of  the  recent  ordinance  establish- 
ing Harbor  District  Number  3. 

In  the  agreement,  which  will  be  submitted  to  the  City  Council  for  confir- 
mation, are  the  following  details: 

Build  a  boulevard  viaduct  over  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  tracks  from 
South  Park  Avenue  reaching  north  and  east  to  Grant  Park.  This  is  the  link 
that  it  is  expected  will  be  furnished  by  the  summer  of  1913. 

Establish  a  pier  for  pleasure  and  excursion  boats  in  the  lake  off  Twenty- 
second  Street. 

Establish  two  bathing  beaches  along  the  lake  shore  between  Twenty-second 
Street  and  Jackson  Park. 

Connect  the  pier  and  bathing  beaches  with  the  territory  west  of  the  railroad 
tracks  by  viaducts  or  tunnels. 

Eventually  build  a  lake  shore  drive  from  Grant  Park  to  Fifty-first  Street,  on 
land  to  be  made  by  filling  in  the  lake  east  of  the  railroad  tracks. 

All  riparian  rights  from  Sixteenth  to  Twenty-second  Streets  so  far  as  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  are  concerned,  belong  to  the  city  in  perpetuity. 

The  city  reserves  the  right  to  cross  the  property  of  the  commissioners  if  a 
harbor  is  built. 

The  city  conveys  a  slip  now  owned  by  it  just  south  of  Grant  Park  to  the 
South  Park  Board. 

The  city  agrees  that  the  rights  granted  to  it  shall  not  be  exercised  except 
by  it  as  a  municipality. 

The  South  Park  Commission,  according  to  John  Barton  Payne,  has  been 
negotiating  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  for  a  long  time  re- 
garding use  of  its  right  of  way  for  public  purposes.  The  agreement  with  the 
city  authorities  indicates  these  negotiations  have  advanced  so  favorably  to  the 
projects  of  the  commission  that  definite  ideas  of  intended  improvements  are  now 
formed.  Mr.  Payne  said  the  negotiations  with  the  Illinois  Central  have  not  yet 
been  concluded. 

According  to  the  agreement,  however,  the  commission  is  assured  it  can 
build  a  boulevard  over  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  from  South  Park  Ave- 
nue, Twenty-second  Street,  and  the  lake  north  to  Grant  Park.  At  other  points 
it  agrees,  either  to  dig  tunnels  under  or  to  construct  viaducts  over  its  right  of 
way  to  the  lake  frontage  beyond. 

The  intended  new  link  is  virtually  an  extension  of  South  Park  Avenue 
north  along  the  lake  front  to  Grant  Park. 

The  park  board  had  already  passed  a  tentative  resolution  giving  the  city 
riparian  rights  to  the  submerged  lands  in  the  territory  affected.  It  also,  by 
resolution,  gave  the  city  a  right  to  construct  at  some  later  date  an  outer  harbor 
east  of  the  proposed  boulevard  with  railroad  tracks  leading  to  it. 

The  South  Park  Commissioners  have  long  planned  to  improve  that  part  of 
the  lake  shore  east  of  the  Illinois  Central  tracks.  Numerous  plans  have  been 
made,  but  little  has  been  done. 


317 

When  the  City  Council  on  Monday  night  passed  ordinances  establishing 
harbor  districts,  the  territory  between  Grant  Park  and  Thirty-first  Street  waa 
designated  as  District  Number  3 — a  site  for  one  harbor.  When  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  learned  of  the  council's  action  they  saw  that  their  plans  for  a 
shore  beautiful  on  the  south  side  were  in  danger  of  being  discarded  forever. 

They  called  a  hasty  conference,  and  John  Barton  Payne,  President  of  the 
Board,  was  sent  to  the  Mayor.  He  urged  the  Mayor  to  ask  the  City  Council 
to  rescind  its  action  establishing  Harbor  District  Number  3. 

The  conference  was  attended  by  Mr.  Payne,  Aid.  Theodore  K.  Long,  Chair- 
man of  the  council  sub-committee  on  harbor  development;  Robert  Redfield,  coun- 
Bel  for  the  South  Park  Board;  Maclay  Hoyne,  First  Assistant  Corporation 
Counsel,  and  Mayor  Harrison. 

It  was  agreed  that  the  Mayor  will  either  ask  the  council  to  rescind  its 
action  regarding  Harbor  District  Number  3  or  veto  the  ordinance. 


318 


APPENDIX  F. 

Agreement  of  December  11,  1911,  Between  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
AND  Proposed  Ordinance  op  the  City  Council  Ratifying  Said 
Agreement. 

AN   ordinance 

RATIFYING,  APPR0M:NG  AND  CONFIRMING  A  CERTAIN  CONTRACT  EN- 
TERED INTO  DECEMBER  11,  1911,  BETWEEN  THE  SOUTH  PARK  COM- 
MISSIONERS AND  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  COMPANY;  DEFIN- 
ING CERTAIN  RIGHTS  AND  PRIVILEGES  OF  THE  CITY  OF  CHICAGO,  THE 
SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSIONERS  AND  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD 
COMPANY  IN  RESPECT  TO  THE  LANDS  ADJOINING  AND  UNDER  THE 
WATERS  OF  LAKE  MICHIGAN,  THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  FIELD  MUSEUM 
OF  NATLTIAL  HISTORY  AND  THE  LOCATION  AND  CONSTRUCTION  OF  A 
RAILROAD  PASSENGER  TERMINAL  BY  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD 
COMPANY ;  CONSENTING  TO  THE  TAKING  BY  SAID  SOUTH  PARK  COMMIS- 
SIONERS FOR  BOULEVARD  PURPOSES  OF  THE  PORTION  OF  EAST  TWELFTH 
STREET  LYING  BETWEEN  THE  EAST  LINE  OF  MICHIGAN  AVENUE  AND 
THE  WEST  LINE  OF  THE  RIGHT  OF  WAY  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAIL- 
ROAD COMPANY;  AND  PROVIDING  FOR  THE  VACATION  OF  PORTIONS  OF 
CERTAIN  STREETS  AND  ALLEYS  AND  FOR  OTHER  MATTERS. 

Whereas,  on  December  11,  1911,  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners, a  municipal  corporation,  entered  into  a  certain  contract 
with  the  Ilhnois  Central  Railroad  Company,  a  corporation,  in 
the  words  and  figures  following,  to-wit : 

"this  agreement,  made  this  11th  day  of  DECEMBER,  A.  D.  1911,  BETWEEN  THE 
SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSIONERS,  A  MUNICIPAL  CORPORATION,  CREATED  BY  THE  LAWS 
OF  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  HEREINAFTER  CALLED  THE  COMMISSIONERS,  PARTY  OF 
THE  FIRST  PART,  AND  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  COMPANY,  A  CORPORATION 
OF  SAID  STATE,  HEREINAFTER  CALLED  THE  COMPANY,  PARTY  OF  THE  SECOND  PART, 
WITNESSETH; 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  now  have  control  over  the  public  parks  in  the 
City  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  known  as  Grant  Park  and  Jackson  Park,  both  of  which 
border  upon  public  waters  in  this  State,  to-wit,  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan, 
and  are  now  separate;   and 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners,  under  the  authority  vested  in  them  by  the 
laws  of  said  State,  wish  to  extend  Jackson  Park  over  and  upon  the  bed  of  said 
public  waters  adjoining  thereto,  and  to  connect  Jackson  and  Grant  Parks  by  a 
boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway  extending  over  and  upon  the  bed  of  the  said 
public  waters,  and  over  and  upon  any  lands  penetrating  into  said  waters,  con- 
sistently, however,  with  the  practical  navigation  of  said  public  waters  for  the 
purposes  of  commerce;  and. 

Whereas,  the  Company  is  the  owner  of  certain  lands,  piers,  docks  and 
rights  thereto  pertaining,  adjoining  or  near  to  the  southerly  end  of  said  Grant 
Park  and  penetrating  into  the  said  waters  east  of  the  boundary  line  herein  estab- 


319 

lished,  which  said  Commissioners  desire  to  acquire  for  the  purposes  herein- 
after stated;   and, 

Whereas,  said  Company  claims  to  own  the  greater  part  of  the  lands  and 
the  riparian  and  other  rights  pertaining  to  such  lands  on  the  shores  adjoining 
said  public  waters  between  the  south  line  of  Lake  Park  Place  (formerly  known 
as  Park  Row)  extended  eastwardly,  and  a  point  in  the  east  line  of  Section 
Eleven  (11),  Township  Thirty-eight  (38)  North,  Range  Fourteen  (14)  east  of 
the  third  principal  meridian,  in  the  said  city,  hereinafter  fixed  as  the  southerly 
end  of  the  said  boundary  line  to  be  established,  except  the  lands  and  riparian 
and  other  rights  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  except  as  hereinafter  provided; 
and  Is  also  the  owner  of  certain  lands  penetrating  into  said  public  waters  be- 
yond the  said  boundary  line,  upon  and  over  which  it  is  proposed  to  construct 
such  extension  and  connection,  and  the  construction  of  such  extension  and  con- 
nection will  interfere  with  or  destroy  the  enjoyment  by  said  company  of  its 
said  riparian  rights  and  necessitate  the  appropriation  by  said  Commissioners 
of  that  part  of  the  said  lands  of  the  Company  penetrating  into  the  said  public 
waters  beyond  said  boundary  line;  and  the  acquisition  by  the  Commissioners 
of  said  riparian  rights  and  such  part  of  the  said  penetrating  lands  of  the  Com- 
pany is  necessary  to  the  construction  of  the  proposed  boulevard,  driveway  or 
parkway;  and. 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  and  the  Company  desire  to  agree,  in  form 
and  manner  provided  by  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  upon  a  permanent 
boundary  line  dividing  between  the  said  Commissioners  and  the  Company  the 
submerged  and  other  lands  which  extend  from  the  east  line  of  the  right  of 
way  of  said  company,  into  and  under  the  said  public  waters  between  the  termini 
of  the  said  boundary  line  as  hereinafter  described,  and  to  fix  and  define  the  part 
of  such  submerged  and  other  lands  which  shall  be  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the 
Company,  in  lieu  of,  and  as  compensation  for,  the  release  to  the  Commissioners 
of  its  said  riparian  rights  and  its  interest  in  the  part  of  said  lands  penetrating 
into  the  said  public  waters  beyond  the  said  boundary  line,  and  to  confirm  in 
the  said  Commissioners'  title,  jurisdiction  and  control,  for  park  purposes,  as 
provided  by  law,  over  the  said  riparian  rights  of  the  Company  and  the  part  of 
said  lands  penetrating  beyond  the  said  boundary  line;  and. 

Whereas,  the  said  Company  claims  to  be  the  owner,  as  aforesaid,  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  said  shore  lands,  the  riparian  rights  pertaining  thereto,  and 
of  the  said  penetrating  lands  between  the  termini  of  the  said  proposed  boundary 
line  except  as  aforesaid,  and  except  as  hereinafter  provided,  and  the  Commis- 
sioners wish  to  have  established,  without  delay,  the  said  boundary  line  oppo- 
site the  said  shore  lands  owned  by  the  Company,  to  thereby  secure  the  early 
use,  for  park  purposes,  of  certain  of  the  said  penetrating  and  other  lands  on  the 
easterly  side  of  such  boundary  line,  to  the  end  that  there  may  be  confirmed  in 
said  Commissioners  the  complete  title,  jurisdiction  and  control,  for  park  pur- 
poses, as  provided  by  law,  over  all  of  said  riparian  rights  and  lands  penetrating 
beyond  the  said  boundary  line  between  the  said  termini,  and  that  there  may 
be  confirmed  in  the  Company  the  right  and  title  to  the  submerged  and  other 
lands  between  the  said  easterly  line  of  its  present  right  of  way  and  the  said 
boundary  line  as  hereinafter  provided,  excepting,  however,  the  part  of  said  line 
which  extends  through  the  land  now  occupied  and  used  by  the  City  of  Chicago 
for  its  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station  and  held  by  it  under  a  deed  from 
the  Company  dated  August  17,  1898,  which  land  is  not  intended  to  be  included 
herein,  as  to  which  special  provision  is  hereinafter  made: 

Now,  therefore,  in  consideration  of  the  premises  and  of  the  benefit  to 
result  to  each  of  the  parties  herefrom,  and  the  mutual  covenants  and  agree- 
ments of  the  parties  herein  contained,  but  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Circuit 
Court  of  Cook  County,  Illinois,  as  hereinafter  provided,  it  is  covenanted  and 
agreed  between  the  Commissioners  and  the  Company,  as  follows: 

Article  I.  The  permanent  boundary  line  dividing  the  submerged  and  other 
lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  Commissioners 
and  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned  and 
used  by  the  Company  (in  lieu  of,  and  as  compensation  for,  the  release  of  said 
riparian  rights  and  said  part  of  said  penetrating  lands  to  the  Commissioners 
as  hereinafter  provided)   here  contemplated  and  intended  to  be  established    as 


320 

the  rights  and  interests  essential  thereto  may  be  acquired  as  hereinafter  pro- 
vided   is  the  line  described  as  follows,  namely: 

Commencing  at  a  point  in  the  south  line  of  said  Lake  Park  Place,  produced 
easterly,  that  is  seven  hundred  and  sixty-one  (761)  feet  east  of  the  west  line 
of  Michigan  Avenue,  and  extending  thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  to 
intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  produced  east  at  a  point  seven 
hundred  (700)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of  Indiana  Avenue,  thence  southeast- 
erly in  a  straight  line  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Eighteenth  Street  pro- 
duced east  at  a  point  six  hundred  and  sixty  (660)  feet  east  of,  measured  at 
right  angles  to,  the  westerly  line  of  the  Company's  waylands  as  now  estab- 
lished; thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  parallel  to  and  six  hundred  and 
sixty  (660)  feet  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  the  intersection  with  the 
north  line  of  Twenty-ninth  Street  produced  east;  thence  southerly  in  a  straight 
line  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  Street  produced  east  at  a 
point  four  hundred  (400)  feet  easterly  from,  measured  at  right  angles  to,  said 
westerly  waylands  line;  thence  southeasterly,  parallel  to  and  four  hundred  (400) 
feet  easterly  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  center  line 
of  Forty-first  Street  produced  east;  thence  continuing  southerly  parallel  to  and 
four  hundred  and  fifty  (450)  feet  easterly  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to 
intersect  with  the  east  line  of  Section  Eleven  (11),  Township  Thirty-eight  (38) 
North,  Range  Fourteen  (14)  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  except  the 
part  thereof  extending  through  the  said  lands  of  the  City,  which  said  line, 
with  its  courses  and  distances,  is  shown  in  red  on  the  plat  hereto  attached  and 
made  part  hereof;  and  in  so  far  as  the  said  line  is  located  along  and  opposite 
lands  on  the  shore  adjoining  the  said  public  waters,  which,  together  with  the 
riparian  rights  pertaining  thereto,  are  now  owned  by  the  Company,  it,  the  said 
line,  is  hereby  established,  acknowledged  and  confirmed,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  said  Circuit  Court,  as  the  said  permanent  boundary  line  dividing  the 
submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used 
by  the  Commissioners  and  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be 
acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  said  Company. 

In  the  event  that  the  City  Pumping  Station  at  Thirty-ninth  Street  shall  be 
removed  and  the  site  and  city  lands  upon  which  it  is  situated  acquired  from  the 
City,  the  land  shall  be  divided  between  the  parties  hereto  by  the  said  permanent 
dividing  and  boundary  line,  and  the  expense  shall  be  shared  between  the  parties 
in  like  manner  as  in  case  of  the  adverse  interests  to  be  acquired  under  this 
agreement. 

Article  II.  Should  it  appear  at  any  time  that  there  are  any  adverse  inter- 
ests (except  the  interests  of  the  City  of  Chicago  pertaining  to  its  pumping 
station  situated  at  Thirty-ninth  Street,  above  referred  to),  such  adverse  interests 
shall  be  acquired  by  the  Company  and  from  time  to  time  as  such  adverse  inter- 
ests, if  any,  are  obtained,  the  Commissioners  shall  take  such  steps  as  are  con- 
templated by  the  Act  under  which  such  proposed  boundary  line  is  to  be  obtained, 
to  secure  the  final  confirmation  and  establishment  of  the  said  dividing  and 
boundary  line,  through  each,  and  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights 
derived  from  such  adverse  interests,  if  any,  shall  be  divided  between  the  parties 
hereto  in  the  same  manner  and  by  the  same  permanent  boundary  line  herein- 
before described  as  in  case  of  the  lands  and  rights  now  owned  by  the  Company. 

And  the  Commissioners  shall  pay  to  said  Company  on  demand  from  time  to 
time  one-half  (^4)  the  price  or  cost  and  expense  of  the  acquirement  of  any  such 
adverse  interests,  provided  the  amount  of  the  price,  cost  or  expense  for  one-half 
(1/.)  of  which  demand  is  made  at  any  time  has  been  approved  by  the  Commis- 
sioners before  the  obligation  therefor  was  incurred.  If  the  Commissioners  have 
not  approved  or  do  not  approve  the  price,  cost  or  expense,  then  the  amount 
which  the  Commissioners  shall  pay  shall  be  determined  by  the  finding  of  a  ma- 
jority of  three  (3)  arbitrators,  one  to  be  chosen  by  each  of  the  parties  hereto, 
and  the  third  to  be  named  by  the  Judge  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  Southern  District  of  Illinois.  The  arbitrators  shall  determine 
what  would  have  been  a  reasonable  price,  cost  or  expense  under  all  the  circum- 
stances, and  shall  require  each  of  the  parties  hereto  to  bear  not  less  than  one- 
half  (%)  of  such  reasonable  price,  cost  or  expense,  not  to  exceed  one-half  (i^) 
of  the  actual  price,  cost  or  expense. 


321 

The  term  "adverse  interests"  as  used  in  this  agreement  shall  be  taken  to 
include  any  lands,  riparian  rights  or  interests  not  owned  by  the  Company.  Should 
the  Company  fail  to  acquire  such  adverse  interests,  or  any  of  them,  within  a 
reasonable  time  through  inability  to  reach  an  agreement  on  the  price,  or  for 
any  cause,  the  Commissioners  may  purchase  such  adverse  interests,  or  any  of 
them,  and  shall  be  reimbursed  by  the  Company  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is 
herein  provided  that  the  Company  shall  be  reimbursed  by  the  Commissioners 
in  case  of  a  purchase  by  the  Company,  the  situations  being  reversed,  and  the 
same  provisions  snail  be  applicable.  Both  parties  to  this  agreement  shall  co- 
operate with  each'  other  to  the  fullest  extent,  and  exercise  all  their  legal  powers 
to  perfect  the  entire  permanent  and  dividing  boundary  line  and  to  carry  out 
the  purposes  of  this  agreement. 

Article  III.  The  Commissioners  shall,  without  delay,  file  from  time  to 
time  as  may  be  necessary  a  petition  or  petitions,  or  bill  or  bills,  in  chancery,  on 
the  chancery  side  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County,  Illinois,  praying  that 
the  said  boundary  line  above  established  between  the  lands  acquired  or  to  be 
acquired  by  the  Commissioners,  and  the  lands  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  by  the 
Company,  may  be  established  and  confirmed  by  the  decree  of  said  Court,  either 
in  entirety  in  one  decree  or  in  several  decrees  corresponding  to  the  petitions  or 
bills  filed  for  that  purpose;  and  they  shall  exercise  all  proper  diligence  and  take 
all  proper  steps  in  the  prosecution  of  such  petition  or  petitions,  or  bill  or  bills, 
as  may  from  time  to  time  be  necessary,  as  contemplated  and  required  by  an 
Act  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  approved  May  2,  1907,  entitled,  "An  Act  authorizing 
Park  Commissioners  to  acquire  and  improve  submerged  and  shore  lands  for 
park  purposes,  providing  for  the  payment  therefor,  and  granting  unto  such 
Commissioners  certain  rights  and  powers,  and  to  riparian  owners  certain  rights 
and  titles,"  and  generally  shall  exert  all  reasonable  efforts  to  the  end  that  said 
boundary  line  as  herein  defined  may  be  established  and  confirmed  by  the  final 
judgment  or  judgments,  decree  or  decrees,  of  said  court,  in  the  said  proceeding 
or  proceedings. 

Article  IV.  Upon  the  establishment  and  confirmation  by  the  final  judgment 
or  judgments  and  decree  or  decrees  in  said  proceeding  or  proceedings  of  the  said 
part  of  said  dividing  and  boundary  line  above  described  as  the  permanent  divid- 
ing and  boundary  line  along  and  opposite  said  lands  on  the  shore  adjoining  the 
said  part  of  the  said  public  waters,  which,  together  with  the  riparian  rights  per- 
taining thereto  are  now  owned  by  the  Company,  all  of  the  riparian  rights  now  held 
or  owned  by  the  Company,  as  the  owner  of  said  lands,  and  also  all  the  right,  title 
and  interest  of  the  Company  in  and  to  the  part  of  the  submerged,  reclaimed, 
made  and  penetrating  lands,  and  in  and  to  the  part  of  any  piers,  basins  or 
projections  situate,  lying  or  being  on  or  penetrating  or  projecting  into  said 
public  waters  beyond  and  on  the  easterly  side  of  such  part  of  said  boundary  line, 
shall  vest  in,  be  taken  by,  held  and  acquired  by  the  said  Commissioners,  and 
in  that  event,  the  same  are  hereby  vested  in,  transferred,  assigned  and  conveyed 
to  the  said  Commissioners  for  the  purposes  aforesaid;  and  upon  such  establish- 
ment and  confirmation  as  aforesaid  of  the  said  part  of  said  dividing  and  bound- 
ary line  as  the  permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line  along  and  opposite  the 
said  lands  of  the  Company,  the  part  of  the  said  submerged,  reclaimed,  made  and 
penetrating  lands  and  the  waters  thereon,  situate  and  being  on  the  westerly 
side  of  said  part  of  said  boundary  line,  and  all  the  right,  title  and  interest  in 
or  pertaining  thereto  shall  be  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  Company,  in  lieu  of, 
and  as  compensation  for,  the  release  to  the  Commissioners  of  its  said  above 
described  riparian  and  other  rights  and  property,  and  in  that  event,  the  same 
are  hereby  vested  in,  transferred,  assigned  and  conveyed  to  said  Company.  The 
said  Company  shall  have  and  hold  the  fee  simple  title  to  any  and  all  such  lands 
and  interests  so  vested  in  it,  with  the  full  right  to  fill  in,  improve,  protect  and 
use  the  same  for  railroad  and  other  lawful  purposes,  and  to  sell  and  convey  the 
same  up  to  the  lines  so  established,  free  from  any  adverse  claim  in  any  way 
arising  out  of  any  question  as  to  where  the  shore  line  was  at  any  time  in  the 
past  or  as  to  the  title  to  any  existing  accretions.  And  upon  the  establishment 
and  confirmation  as  aforesaid  of  the  said  part  of  the  said  dividing  and  boundary 
line  as  aforesaid,  the  said  Company,  as  a  part  of  the  release  of  its  right,  title 
and  interest  in  said  part  of  such  basins,   piers  or  projections,  and  all  other 


322 

property  lying  east  of  such  boundary  line,  shall  consent,  and.  in  the  event  of  the 
establishment  and  confirmation  as  aforesaid  of  the  said  part  of  said  dividing 
and  boundary  line  as  aforesaid,  this  instrument  shall  be  effective  as  the  consent 
of  the  Company,  that  the  basin  now  located  east  of  Twelfth  Street  extended  may 
be  closed  and  filled  and  the  lands  under  the  same  reclaimed  by  said  Commis- 
sioners, and  the  said  Company  will  by  quit  claim  deed  convey  to  the  Commis- 
sioners the  following  described  property,  to-wit: 

A  parcel  of  ground  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  in  Cook  County,  State 
of  Illinois,  described  as  follows: 

Beginning  at  a  point  in  the  south  line  of  Lake  Park  Place  (formerly  known 
as  Park  Row),  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  produced  easterly,  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-one  (761)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of  Michigan  Avenue,  extending  thence 
southeasterly,  making  an  angle  of  forty-five  (45)  degrees  with  a  line  parallel 
to  the  west  line  of  Michigan  Avenue  seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight  (778)  feet, 
more  or  less,  to  a  point  in  the  north  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany's Thirteenth  Street  Pier,  thirteen  hundred  and  twenty  (1320)  feet  east  of 
the  west  line  of  Michigan  Avenue;  thence  east  along  said  north  line  five  hun- 
dred and  thirty  (530)  feet,  more  or  less,  to  east  line  of  said  pier;  thence  south 
along  said  east  line  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  (288)  feet,  more  or  less,  to 
the  south  line  of  said  pier;  thence  west  along  said  south  line  to  an  intersection 
with  the  said  permanent  boundary  line  above  described  in  Article  I,  paragraph 
two,  hereof,  thence  northwesterly  along  said  permanent  boundary  line  to  the 
place  of  beginning. 

The  Company  further  undertakes  to  secure  at  the  time  said  quitclaim  deed 
is  delivered,  the  release  of  its  Refunding  Mortgage,  being  the  indenture  dated 
November  1,  1908,  by  and  between  the  Company  and  the  Guaranty  Trust  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  so  far  as  the  said  mortgage  or  indenture  relates  to  or  covers 
the  property  last  above  described,  so  to  be  conveyed  by  quitclaim  deed,  it  being 
intended  to  be  conveyed  to  said  Commissioners  as  and  for  a  site  for  a  museum, 
to  be  erected  either  by  said  Commissioners  or  by  the  directors  or  trustees  of 
such  museum  as  may  be  authorized  by  said  Commissioners,  and  as  to  said  lands 
above  described  any  conveyance  to  the  Commissioners  shall  contain  a  dedica- 
tion of  said  land  to  public  use  for  museum  purposes  or  to  such  other  parkway 
purposes  as  said  Commissioners  may  determine,  and  said  Company  specifically 
declares  that  it  is  not  its  intention  that  said  land  shall  become  attached  to  or 
become  a  part  of  Grant  Park  unless  and  until  the  said  Commissioners  shall,  by 
ordinance  or  resolution,  give  evidence  of  their  intention  to  attach  said  land  to. 
said  park. 

It  is  covenanted  and  agreed  that  upon  the  establishment  and  confirmation 
of  any  part  of  the  said  boundary  line  by  the  said  Court,  the  part  of  said  line  so 
established  and  confirmed  shall  thereafter  be  the  permanent  dividing  and 
boundary  line  to  the  extent  so  established  and  confirmed,  and  shall  not  be  affected 
or  changed  thereafter  either  by  accretions  or  erosions;  and  upon  the  final  estab- 
lishment of  said  boundary  line  through  its  entire  length,  as  contemplated  by 
this  agreement,  it  shall  thereafter  be  the  permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line 
of  the  said  lands  so  to  be  taken  by  the  respective  parties  as  aforesaid,  between 
the  termini  of  the  said  line. 

Article  V.  The  Company  covenants  and  agrees  that  upon  the  final  estab- 
lishment and  confirmation  of  the  said  boundary  line  along, 'opposite  and  through 
the  lands  on  the  shore  adjoining  the  said  part  of  the  said  public  waters  which 
together  with  the  riparian  rights  pertaining  thereto,  are  now  owned  by  the  Com- 
pany, and  the  vesting  in  the  Company  of  the  title,  as  provided  by  the  statute 
aforesaid,  to  the  submerged  lands  along  such  part  of  the  said  boundary  line,  with 
the  right  to  fill  in  and  use  the  same  for  railroad  purposes;  and  upon  the 
operation  by  electricity  of  its  tracks  and  terminals  north  of  Twelfth  Street  in 
said  City  of  Chicago,  the  Commissioners,  subject  to  the  conditions  and  restric- 
tions herein  provided,  may  construct  and  maintain  viaducts  or  bridges  over  the 
land,  rights  of  way  and  tracks  of  the  Company  on  a  line  produced  eastward  on 
all  the  east  and  west  streets  abutting  upon  or  crossing  Michigan  Avenue  between 
and  inclusive  of  Randolph  Street  and  Harmon  Place  in  said  City;  said  viaducts 
or  bridges  may  be  of  the  full  width  of  the  respective  streets  on  the  line  of  which 
they  are  constructed.    The  superstructure  of  each  such  viaduct  or  bridge  shall 


323 

be  of  metal  or  reinforced  concrete  and  the  lowest  point  of  any  such  super- 
structure shall  be  not  less  than  eighteen  (18)  feet  in  the  clear  above  the  level  of 
the  top  of  the  railroad  tracks  as  now  existing  at  the  east  and  west  lines  of  the 
Company's  right  of  way  at  such  place  or  places,  and  the  clearance  or  clearances 
of  such  bridges  or  viaducts  shall  in  all  other  respects  conform  to  the  clearances 
of  the  bridges  now  existing.  All  the  supports  or  piers  of  such  viaducts  or  bridges 
shall  be  forty  (40)  feet  apart  between  centers,  requiring  four  (4)  piers  or  sup- 
ports in  the  two  hundred  (200)  feet  width  of  the  right  of  way  of  the  Company, 
and  shall  be  set  at  uniform  distances  from  the  west  side  of  the  Company's  right 
of  way  and  parallel  with  the  Company's  tracks. 

And  the  Commissioners  may  also,  at  such  time,  construct  and  maintain  a 
covering  not  to  exceed  fifty  (50)  feet  in  width  above  and  over  the  Company's 
right  of  way  adjoining  and  along  the  west  side  thereof  between  Twelfth  and 
Randolph  Streets,  and  a  covering  not  to  exceed  fifty  (50)  feet  in  width  adjoining 
and  along  the  east  side  of  said  right  of  way  between  Twelfth  and  Monroe  Streets. 
There  shall  be  a  single  line  of  piers  or  supports  for  such  covering  or  coverings 
which  shall  be  set  at  the  uniform  distance  of  forty  (40)  feet  from  the  side  of  the 
Company's  right  of  way  along  which  such  covering  may  extend  or  be  attached, 
and  such  piers  or  supports  shall  be  set  between  tracks  so  as  to  conform  with  the 
location  of  the  piers  or  supports  of  the  bridges  or  viaducts  by  this  paragraph 
authorized.  The  extension  of  the  said  covering  beyond  said  line  of  piers  shall 
be  by  cantilever  or  other  similar  device.  The  said  covering  here  intended  shall 
have  a  clearance  above  the  existing  tracks  of  the  Company  to  conform  and  corre- 
spond with  that  provided  for  the  bridges  or  viaducts  as  hereinabove  specified, 
and  which  at  no  point  shall  be  less  than  eighteen  (18)  feet.  The  piers  or  sup- 
ports above  authorized  for  the  said  bridges  or  viaducts  and  covering  shall  not 
exceed  the  piers  under  the  existing  bridges  in  Grant  Park  in  size  or  space  occu- 
pied. The  surface  of  the  said  covering  may  be  used  for  such  purposes  as  the  Com- 
missioners may  desire,  provided  such  use  does  not  interfere  with  the  use  or 
operation  of  the  Company's  tracks  and  right  of  way. 

It  is  understood  and  agreed  that  none  of  the  foregoing  provisions  in  this 
Article  contained  shall  be  in  force  until  the  said  tracks  and  terminals  shall  be 
operated  by  electricity,  as  above  stated,  except,  however,  that  immediately  upon 
the  confirmation  of  the  said  boundary  line  along  the  shore  lands  now  owned  by 
the  Company,  and  the  vesting  in  the  Company  of  the  title  to  said  submerged 
lands  at  such  place  or  places  as  aforesaid,  the  Commissioners  may  construct  and 
maintain  a  bridge  or  viaduct  at  each  of  the  streets  between  Jackson  Street  and 
Hubbard  Place,  inclusive,  of  a  width,  if  constructed  at  all  of  the  said  streets,  not 
to  exceed  the  width  of  the  respective  streets  extended  eastwardly;  or,  in  lieu  of 
the  bridges  or  viaducts  authorized  at  the  said  several  streets  between  said  Jack- 
son Street  and  Hubbard  Place,  inclusive,  the  Commissioners  may,  at  their  elec- 
tion, construct  and  maintain  a  bridge  or  viaduct  at  each  of  any  three  or  four  of 
said  last  mentioned  streets  as  they  may  elect,  the  total  width  of  such  streets,  if 
so  consolidated,  not  to  exceed  three  hundred  and  thirty  (330)  feet,  and  no  single 
bridge  to  be  over  one  hundred  and  ten  (110)  feet  in  width.  Said  bridges  shall 
be  of  the  construction,  clearance  above  the  tracks  of  the  Company,  and  with  sup- 
ports corresponding  in  size  and  location  to  the  construction,  clearance  and  sup- 
ports as  above  provided  for  the  viaducts  and  bridges  to  be  constructed  over  the 
said  Company's  right  of  way  in  said  Grant  Park. 

Provided,  however,  and  the  right  and  authority  in  this  Article  given  the 
Commissioners  is  subject  to  the  express  condition,  restriction  and  reservation, 
that  no  structure,  covering,  viaduct  or  bridge  shall  be  constructed  or  maintained; 
or  any  such  use  made  thereof  by  the  Conamissioners  that  will  interfere  with  or 
prevent  the  Company's  free  use  and  operation  of  its  said  tracks  for  railroad 
purposes,  excepting  that  the  supports  or  piers  mentioned  may  be  located  as  above 
stated. 

Article  VI.  Upon  the  establishment  and  confirmation  by  the  final  judgment 
or  judgments  and  decree  or  decrees  in  said  proceeding  or  proceedings  of  the  said 
part  of  the  said  dividing  and  boundary  line  above  described  as  the 
permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line  along  and  opposite  said  lands  on  the 
shore  adjoining  the  said  part  of  the  said  public  waters,  which  together  with  the 
riparian   rights   pertaining  thereto,   are   now   owned   by   the   Company,   except 


324 

through  the  said  lands  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  the  vesting  in  the  Company 
of  the  lands,  rights  and  interests  which  it  is  above  agreed  shall  be  vested  in  it 
between  the  said  easterly  line  of  its  present  right  of  way  and  the  said  part  of 
the  said  dividing  and  boundary  line — the  following  covenants  and  agreements 
in  this  Article  contained  shall  be  in  force,  and  the  rights  mentioned  confirmed 
and  established: 

(1)  The  Commissioners  shall  have,  and  are  hereby  given  the  right,  sub- 
ject to  the  conditions  and  requirements  herein  contained  and  to  the  restrictions 
in  this  Section,  to  construct  and  maintain  viaducts  over  the  tracks,  lands  and 
right  of  way  of  said  Company,  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  hereunder,  in  line 
with  the  projection  eastward  of  such  east  and  west  streets  as  said  Commissioners 
may  select  between  Twenty-second  Street  and  Forty-first  Street  in  the  said  City 
of  Chicago;  provided,  however,  and  it  is  agreed,  that  not  more  than  four  of 
such  viaducts  to  each  mile  longitudinally  with  the  right  of  way  of  said  Company 
shall  be  constructed.  The  Commissioners  shall  also  have,  and  are  hereby  given, 
the  right  to  construct  and  maintain  viaducts  over  the  said  tracks,  lands  and 
right  of  way  of  the  Company  in  line  with  the  projection  eastward  of  Forty-first 
Street,  Forty-third  Street  and  Forty-seventh  Street  in  said  City.  The  Commis- 
sioners shall  not  construct  any  other  viaducts  over  the  tracks,  lands  and  right  of 
way  of  said  Company  between  Twelfth  Street  and  Fifty-first  Street  in  said  City 
than  those  authorized  in  this  and  the  next  paragraph,  except  with  the  consent 
of  the  Company.  The  superstructure  of  each  of  the  viaducts  herein  authorized 
shall  be  of  metal  or  reinforced  concrete,  and  the  lowest  point  of  any  such  super- 
structure shall  be  not  less  than  nineteen  (19)  feet  in  the  clear  above  the  level 
of  the  top  of  the  railroad  tracks  as  now  existing  or  hereafter  to  be  constructed. 
All  of  the  supports  or  piers  for  such  viaducts  shall  be  not  less  than  forty  (40) 
feet  apart  between  centers,  and  shall  be  set  at  uniform  distances  from  the  west 
side  of  the  Company's  right  of  way  and  parallel  with  the  Company's  tracks,  and 
shall  be  so  arranged  as  to  provide  a  clear  space  sufficient  for  not  less  than  three 
(3)  tracks  at  any  span,  excepting,  however,  that  at  any  place  or  places  where  the 
practical  construction  and  operation  of  the  Company's  tracks  requires  a  greater 
width  or  distance  between  the  piers  of  any  such  viaduct  or  viaducts,  such  greater 
width  or  distance  shall  be  provided  by  the  Commissioners,  not  in  any  case,  how- 
ever, to  exceed  one  hundred  (100)  feet.  The  piers  or  supports  for  such  viaduct 
or  viaducts  shall  not  exceed  in  size  or  space  occupied  those  authorized  for  the 
bridges  to  be  constructed  under  Article  V  hereof.  The  Commissioners  agree  that 
the  viaducts  herein  authorized  shall  be  so  constructed  as  not  to  interfere  with 
or  prevent  the  construction  or  use  of  two  double  track  elevated  connecting 
tracks,  one  set  extending  from  a  connection  with  what  is  known  as  the  St. 
Charles  Air  Line,  at  or  near  Sixteenth  Street,  over  the  main  tracks  and  side 
tracks  of  said  Company  as  they  now  exist  or  as  they  may  be  hereafter  recon- 
structed in  connection  with  the  reconstructed  station  south  of  Twelfth  Street, 
with  a  southeasterly  curve  to  its  tracks  and  yards  constructed  or  to  be  con- 
structed; and  one  set  extending  from  a  connection  with  what  is  known  as  the 
Chicago  Junction  Railway  on  or  near  Forty-first  Street,  over  the  existing  main 
tracks  of  said  Company,  with  a  southeasterly  curve  to  its  tracks  and  yards  con- 
structed or  to  be  constructed.  The  viaducts  constructed  over  any  part  of  said 
elevated  connecting  tracks  shall  have  a  clearance  over  such  elevated  tracks  of 
not  less  than  nineteen   (19)   feet. 

(2)  That  in  addition  to  the  said  viaducts  provided  to  be  constructed  in  the 
last  preceding  paragraph,  the  Commissioners  shall  have,  and  are  hereby  given 
the  right,  subject  to  the  conditions  and  requirements  hereinbefore  contained  and 
to  the  restrictions  in  this  Section,  to  construct  and  thereafter  maintain  a  boule- 
vard across  the  right  of  v.-ay,  lands  and  tracks  of  the  Company  by  a  viaduct  to 
be  constructed  over  such  tracks,  right  of  way  and  lands  in  line  with  the  pro- 
jection northward  of  Souta  Park  Avenue  or  eastward  of  Twenty-second  Street 
in  said  City  of  Chicago.  The  superstructure  of  such  viaduct  shall  be  of  metal 
and  the  lowest  point  thereof  shall  be  not  less  than  nineteen  (19)  feet  in  the  clear 
above  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  present  railroad  tracks;  except,  however,  and 
it  is  expressly  agreed,  that  such  viaduct  shall  be  so  elevated  as  to  cross  with  a 
clearance  of  not  less  than  nineteen  (19)  feet  the  double  track  connection  heiein 
proposed  to  be  constructed  from  said  St.  Charles  Air  Line  tracks  near  Sixteenth 


325 

street.  The  piers  or  supports  for  such  viaduct  shall  be  so  arranged  as  to  provide 
a  clear  space  sufficient  for  not  less  than  three  (3)  tracks  at  any  span,  and  bhall 
be  constructed  parallel  to  the  railroad  tracks,  except  where  otherwise  -specially 
agreed  by  the  parties  hereto,  and  in  size  and  location  shall  conform,  as  far  as 
practicable,  to  the  requirements  for  the  other  viaducts  by  this  contract 
authorized. 

Article  VII.  Within  five  (5)  years  from  the  date  of  this  contract  the 
Commissioners  shall  procure  title  to  and  hold  only  for  park  purposes  the  tract 
of  land  described  as  follows,  to-wit: 

Lots  2  to  12,  both  inclusive,  of  Johnston  and  Laflin's  Subdivision  of  Lots 
1,  2,  3  and  part  of  Lot  4,  in  Block  23,  in  fractional  Section  15,  Addition  to 
Chicago,  all  being  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  County  of  Cook  and  State  of  Illinois; 
and  upon  the  acquisition  of  the  said  lands  the  Company  shall,  with  all  reasonable 
dispatch,  remove  its  Twelfth  Street  Station  and  office  building  to  land  south 
of  a  line  parallel  with  and  eighty-five  (85)  feet  south  of  the  south  line  of  Twelfth 
Street  as  now  established  east  of  Michigan  Avenue  in  said  City,  and,  subject  to 
the  restrictions  and  reservations  herein  provided,  shall  dedicate  to  the  Commis- 
sioners only  for  park  purposes  the  real  estate  bounded  and  descibed  as  follows, 
to-wit: 

Lots  1,  13  and  14,  of  Johnston  and  Laflin's  Subdivision  of  Lots  1,  2,  3 
and  part  of  Lot  4,  in  Block  23,  in  fractional  Section  15,  Addition  to  Chicago; 
Also,  all  that  strip  of  land  30  feet  wide  bounded  on  the  west  by  said 
lots  and  on  the  east  by  a  line  400  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of  Michigan 
Avenue  (being  the  west  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Right  of  Way), 
and  extending  200  feet  south  from  the  south  line  of  Park  Row  to  the  north 
line  of  Twelfth  Street;  all  being  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  County  of  Cook  and 
State  of  Illinois; 
such  dedication,  however,  to  contain  apt  conditions  and  restrictions  whereby  no 
building  or  structure  shall  be  erected  upon  either  the  said  last  described  land 
dedicated  as  aforesaid,  or  upon  the  next  previously  described  as  to  be  acquired 
by  the  Commissioners.    The  Company  shall  deliver  to  the  Commissioners  posses- 
sion of  the  said  land,  to  be  dedicated  by  it  within  five  (5)  years  after  the  signing 
of  this  instrument,  provided  that  they  shall  be  allowed  three  (3)  years  after  the 
acquisition  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  lands  to  be  procured  by  them  which 
might,  in  that  contingency,  extend  the  period  beyond  five  (5)  years. 

Upon  the  removal  of  the  said  station  and  office  building,  the  Company  shall 
dedicate  to  the  said  Commissioners  for  boulevard  purposes,  the  strip  of  ground 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  east  line  of  Michigan  Avenue,  on  the  north  by  the 
south  line  of  Twelfth  Street  as  now  established  east  of  Michigan  Avenue,  on  the 
east  by  the  west  line  of  Indiana  Avenue,  and  on  the  south  by  a  line  drav/n 
parallel  with  and  eighty-five  (85)  feet  south  of  the  said  south  line  of  Twelfth 
Street,  except  the  part  of  said  strip  now  occupied  by  the  north  and  south  alley 
now  established  across  the  same,  and  as  to  the  part  of  said  alley  in  said  strip  the 
Company  consents  to  its  use  for  such  purposes,  and  the  Commissioners  may 
construct  and  perpetually  maintain  on  said  strip  of  ground  an  approach  to  the 
viaduct  hereinafter  described.  The  Company  shall  have  and  hereby  reserves  ihe 
free  use  of  said  boulevard  and  approach  for  itself  and  its  patrons,  and  its  and 
their  conveyances  in  going  to  and  from  its  station  as  relocated,  not  inconsistent 
with  boulevard  purposes,  it  being  understood  that  there  shall  be  provided  by  the 
Company  over  said  boulevard  permanent  means  of  access  to  and  egress  from  the 
said  proposed  station  of  the  Company,  as  relocated. 

It  is  understood  and  agreed  that  the  Company  shall  have,  and  it  hereby  re- 
serves the  right  to  make  and  maintain  at  its  own  expense  such  use  or  uses  for 
railroad  purposes  under  the  surface  of  the  property  last  described,  and  of  the  said 
approach  constructed  and  maintained  thereon,  as  can  be  made  by  it  without  inter- 
ference with  the  uses  above  given  to  the  said  Commissioners,  or  the  appearance 
of  the  said  boulevard  or  park. 

The  Commissioners  may  also,  upon  the  removal  of  said  station  and  office 
building,  as  above  provided,  and  under  the  conditions  and  subject  to  the  -est.'ic- 
tions  hereinbefore  and  herein  stated,  construct  and  maintain  a  viaduct  over  the 
tracks,  right  of  way  and  lands  of  said  Company  in  a  line  with  the  projection  east- 
ward of  said  Twelfth  Street,  with  a  width  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen   (118) 


326 

feet,  the  northerly  side  of  said  viaduct  to  be  on  a  line  with  the  north  line  of 
Twelfth  Street,  as  now  maintained,  extended  eastward.  The  superstructure  of 
said  viaduct  shall  be  constructed  of  metal  or  reinforced  concrete,  and  the  lowest 
point  thereof  shall  be  not  less  than  eighteen  (18)  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
present  tracks  of  said  Company,  except  that  the  clearance  of  said  viaduct  over 
the  Company's  approach  to  what  is  known  as  the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  shall  be 
not  less  than  seventeen  (17)  feet.  The  supports  or  piers  of  said  viaducts  shall 
be  set  parallel  with  the  tracks  and  so  spaced  as  to  correspond  in  size  and  in 
location  with  the  piers  or  supports  of  the  bridges  or  viaducts  north  of  Twelfth 
Street,  and  of  the  covering  hereinbefore  authorized  there,  but  such  piers  shall  be 
so  arranged  as  to  provide  a  clear  space  sufficient  for  not  less  than  three  (3) 
tracks  at  any  span. 

Article  VIII.  In  the  event  that  this  contract  in  so  far  as  it  refers  to  the 
boundary  lines  to  be  established  along  and  opposite  the  property  now  owned  by 
the  Company  shall  not  be  confirmed  by  the  final  judgments  or  decrees  in  the  said 
proceedings,  then  the  Commissioners  shall  be  under  no  obligation  to  acquire  the 
lands  north  of  Twelfth  Street,  south  of  Park  Row,  and  west  of  the  lands  of  the 
Company  hereinbefore  described,  and  the  Company  shall  be  under  no  obligation 
to  dedicate  or  convey  to  the  Commissioners  its  lands  north  of  Twelfth  Street, 
south  of  Park  Row,  and  west  of  its  tracks  hereinbefore  described,  or  to  dedicate 
the  lands  hereinbefore  described  abutting  on  Twelfth  Street,  for  boulevard  or 
other  purposes,  and  the  right  to  construct  and  maintain  a  viaduct  over  its  right 
of  way  at  Twelfth  Street  upon  a  continuation  of  the  line  of  Twelfth  Street  pro- 
duced shall  cease  and  determine,  but  all  of  the  other  provisions  of  this  contract 
except  the  preceding  Article  shall  nevertheless  remain  binding  and  of  full  effect. 

Article  IX.  The  parties  hereto  hereby  mutually  covenant  and  agree  that 
to  the  extent  of  their  lawful  powers,  they  will  do,  execute,  acknowledge  and 
deliver,  or  will  cause  to  be  done,  executed,  acknowledged  and  delivered,  all  and 
every  such  further  acts,  deeds,  transfers  and  assurances,  and  that  they  will  from 
time  to  time,  in  addition  thereto,  in  all  lawful  ways  exercise  such  powers  as  they 
may  possess,  and  cause  to  be  done  and  performed  such  things  as  may  be  requisite 
or  necessary  for  the  better  assuring,  conveying  and  confirming  in  each  of  the  par- 
ties hereto,  respectively,  all  and  singular  the  premises,  estates  and  property  in- 
cluded in  this  Instrument  and  intended  to  be  vested  in  the  parties  hereto  respec- 
tively. 

Article  X.  This  agreement  shall  be  conditional  upon  the  passage  of  an  ordi- 
nance by  the  City  of  Chicago,  in  substance  consenting  to  the  use  for  railroad  pur- 
poses of  the  penetrating  and  submerged  lands  situated  east  of  the  present  tracks 
of  the  Company  and  west  of  the  proposed  boundary  line  throughout  its  entire 
length  (except  the  aforesaid  land  now  occupied  and  used  by  the  City  of  Chicago 
for  its  Thirty -ninth  Street  Pumping  Station),  and  to  the  location  of  the  tracks 
of  the  Company  thereon. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  said  Commissioners  have,  by  authority  of  an  ordi- 
nance duly  passed  on  the  11th  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1911,  caused  this  agreement 
to  be  duly  executed  by  the  President  and  Secretary  of  said  South  Park  Com- 
missioners, and  the  corporate  seal  of  said  South  Park  Commissioners  to  be 
hereunto  affixed,  and  the  said  Company  in  accordance  with  the  resolution  of  its 
Board  of  Directors,  duly  adopted  on  the  8th  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1911,  has 
caused  this  agreement  to  be  duly  executed  by  the  President  and  Secretary  of 
said  Company,  and  its  corporate  seal  to  be  hereunto  affixed,  the  day  and  year  first 
above  written. 

South  Park  Commissioners, 
[seal]  By  John  Barton  Payne, 

Attest:  PresidenU 

J.  F.  Neil, 
Secretary. 

Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company, 
[seal]  By  C.  H.  Markham, 

Attest  :  President. 

D.  R.  Burbank, 
Secretary." 


327 

And  Whereas  in  and  by  Article  X  of  said  contract  it  is  provided  that  said 
contract  shall  be  conditional  upon  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  by  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago, consenting  to  the  use  for  railroad  purposes  of  the  penetrating  and  sub- 
merged lands  situated  east  of  the  present  tracks  of  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  and  west  of  the  boundary  line  described  in  said  contract  throughout 
its  entire  length  (except  the  land  now  occupied  and  used  by  the  City  of  Chicago 
for  its  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station)  and  to  the  location  of  the  tracks  of 
said  Company  thereon,  and 

Whereas,  it  is  desired  by  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  said 
South  Park  Commissioners  that  said  contract  shall  be  ratified  by  the  City  of 
Chicago,  and  said  City  of  Chicago  is  willing  to  ratify  said  contract  and  to  per- 
form the  obligations  on  its  part  hereinafter  defined,  in  consideration,  however, 
of  the  acceptance  of  this  ordinance  and  the  terms  and  conditions  hereinafter 
contained  by  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  said  South  Park  Com- 
missioners. 

Be  it  ordained  "by  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago: 

BATIFICATION  OF  THE   CONTRACT. 

Section  I.  That  the  City  of  Chicago  hereby  ratifies,  approves  and  confirms 
the  said  contract  hereinabove  set  forth  in  the  preamble  of  this  ordinance,  and 
gives  its  consent  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  same,  and  this  ordinance  shall  be 
and  constitute  whatever  consent  may  be  required  by  the  said  contract  in  order 
to  make  the  said  contract  binding  and  of  full  effect. 

GRANTS   BY  THE   CITY  TO   THE   SOUTH  PARK   COMMISSIONERS. 

Section  II.  That  the  City  of  Chicago  hereby  grants,  conveys,  transfers,  sur- 
renders and  relinquishes  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  for  museum  and 
other  park  purposes,  all  of  its  riparian  rights  in  and  to  certain  lands  and  the  sub- 
merged lands  located  and  lying  as  follows,  namely,  the  basin  south  of  the  south 
line  of  Lake  Park  Place  extended  east,  east  of  the  east  line  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company's  waylands  and  north  of  the  north  line  of  said  Company's 
Thirteenth  Street  pier,  and  extending  eastwardly  so  far  as  the  City  of  Chicago 
has  the  right  to  convey.  Said  City  of  Chicago  also  grants,  conveys,  transfers, 
surrenders  and  relinquishes  to  said  South  Park  Commissioners,  for  museum  and 
other  park  purposes,  all  other  title,  right  or  interest  which  said  City  of  Chicago 
has  in  and  to  said  lands  and  submerged  lands,  and  consents  that  said  South 
Park  Commissioners  may  reclaim  and  fill  in  all  of  said  submerged  lands  and 
make  use  of  the  same  as  a  site  for  the  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History,  or  other 
museum,  or  for  any  other  park  purposes. 

Section  III.  That  the  City  of  Chicago  hereby  grants,  conveys,  transfers, 
surrenders,  and  relinquishes  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  all  riparian 
rights  appurtenant  to  the  tract  of  land  known  as  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pump- 
ing Station,  the  same  being  situated  east  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany's right  of  way,  and  between  Thirty-eighth  and  Thirty-ninth  Streets  extended 
east,  and  near  Thirty-ninth  Street  extended  east,  in  said  City  of  Chicago,  being 
the  land  conveyed  to  the  City  of  Chicago  by  deed  from  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company,  dated  August  17,  1898,  which  is  hereby  referred  to  and  made  a 
part  hereof,  and  all  lands  made  and  reclaimed  for  said  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pump- 
ing Station  by  said  City  of  Chicago. 

Section  IV.  That  all  that  portion  of  Lake  Park  Place,  sometimes  called 
Park  Row,  extending  from  the  east  line  of  Michigan  Avenue  to  the  right  of 
way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  shall  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
vacated.  Such  vacation  shall  be  effective  only  when  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners shall  acquire  all  the  land  between  Lake  Park  Place  aforesaid  and  Twelfth 
Street  and  between  Michigan  Avenue  and  the  waylands  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company  for  the  purpose  of  a  park  or  boulevard.  Said  portion  of  Lake 
Park  Place,  in  the  event  of  the  acquisition  of  said  land  by  said  South  Park  Com- 
missioners, will  no  longer  be  required  for  public  uses  and  purposes,  and  the  pub- 
lic interest  will  be  subserved  by  its  vacation.  The  said  South  Park  Commission- 
ers shall  and  will  on  its  part  save  the  City  of  Chicago  harmless  against  any  and 


328 

all  damages,  costs  and  expenses,  if  any,  on  account  of  such  vacation,  and  shall 
pay  all  such  damages  and  costs  as  shall  be  legally  established  by  any  property 
owner  or  owners  on  account  of  such  vacation.  Said  South  Park  Commissioners 
shall  and  will,  within  ninety  days  from  and  after  the  time  limited  for  the  accept- 
ance of  this  ordinance,  file  in  the  office  of  the  Recorder  of  Deeds  of  Cook  County, 
Illinois,  a  certified  copy  of  this  ordinance. 

Section  V.  That  consent  is  hereby  given  and  granted  to  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  to  take,  regulate,  improve,  control  and  govern,  as  parks  and  boule- 
vards under  its  jurisdiction  are  regulated,  improved,  controlled  and  governed,  all 
that  part  of  east  Twelfth  Street  lying  between  the  east  line  of  Michigan  Avenue 
and  the  west  line  of  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 
Nothing  in  this  ordinance  contained,  however,  shall  be  construed  as  a  waiver  or 
relinquishment  by  the  City  of  Chicago  of  any  of  its  rights  or  powers  relating  to 
the  laying  of  water  mains  and  pipes,  or  the  building  or  repairing  of  sewers  or 
drains,  and  the  laying  of  electric  or  other  wires  or  conduits  therefor,  now  or 
hereafter  controlled  by  said  City,  or  the  regulating  of  openings  for 
the  same,  or  the  making  of  other  underground  improvements  in  said 
east  Twelfth  Street  by  said  City.  The  consent  hereby  granted  to  said  South 
Park  Commissioners  to  take,  regulate,  improve,  control  and  govern  the  portion 
of  east  Twelfth  Street  in  this  section  described  is  upon  the  condition  that  said 
South  Park  Commissioners  shall  within  ninety  days  after  the  acceptance  of  this 
ordinance  elect  to  take  and  take  said  portion  of  east  Twelfth  Street. 

GBANTS   BY  THE   CITY  OF   CHICAGO   TO   THE   ILLINOIS   CENTRAL   BAILBOAD   COMPANY. 

Section  VI.  That  permission  and  authority  are  hereby  granted  to  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company,  its  lessees,  licensees,  successors  and  assigns,  to 
construct,  maintain,  use  and  operate  from  time  to  time  a  railroad  passenger 
station  and  terminal,  with  all  the  facilities  and  appurtenances  necessary  thereto, 
as  may  be  found  by  said  Company,  its  lessees,  licensees,  successors  and  assigns, 
desirable  and  convenient,  within  the  space  or  area  bounded  as  follows:  on  the 
north  by  a  line  eighty-three  (S3)  feet  south  of  and  parallel  to  the  south  line  of 
Twelfth  Street  as  at  present  existing;  on  the  west  by  the  east  line  of  Michigan 
Avenue;  on  the  south  by  Thirteenth  Street;  and  on  the  east  by  the  west  line  of 
the  waylands  of  said  Company  and  including  those  portions  of  streets  and  alleys 
described  in  the  following  section,  including  the  right  to  construct  and  use  there- 
on all  tracks,  buildings,  structures  and  appliances  of  every  kind  essential  or  con- 
venient for  such  passenger  station  and  terminal  as  herein  authorized  and  pro- 
vided. 

Section  VII.  That  the  portion  of  Indiana  Avenue  described  as  follows:  Ex- 
tending from  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  to  the  south  line  of  Twelfth 
Street,  and  also  that  portion  of  Indiana  Avenue  at  the  intersection  of  Thirteenth 
Street  in  the  shape  of  a  right  angled  triangle  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  east 
line  of  Indiana  Avenue,  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth 
Street  produced  easterly  across  Indiana  Avenue,  bounded  on  the  west  by  a  line 
drawn  from  the  northwest  corner  of  Indiana  Avenue  and  Thirteenth  Street,  to 
the  point  where  the  south  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  produced  easterly  intersects 
the  east  line  of  Indiana  Avenue;  and  also  that  portion  of  the  alley  running  north 
and  south  between  Michigan  Avenue  and  Indiana  Avenue  extending  one  hundred 
and  eighty-three  (183)  feet  south  of  the  south  line  of  East  Twelfth  Street,  are 
both  hereby  vacated.  Said  portion  of  said  street  and  said  portion  of  said  alley 
are  no  longer  required  for  public  uses  and  purposes,  and  the  public  interest  will 
be  subserved  by  their  vacation. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  shall  and  will  on  its  part  protect 
and  save  the  City  of  Chicago  harmless  against  any  and  all  damages,  costs  and 
expenses  on  account  of  such  vacation,  if  any,  and  shall  pay  all  such  damages  and 
costs  as  shall  be  legally  established  by  any  property  owner  or  owners  on  account 
of  such  vacation.  The  vacation  of  said  portion  of  Indiana  Avenue  and  said  por- 
tion of  said  alley  shall  be  effective  only  when  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany shall  acquire  the  right  to  use  for  railroad  or  depot  purposes  all  the  land 
abutting  on  the  west  side  of  Indiana  Avenue  between  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth 
Streets. 


329 

Section  VIII.  That  consent  and  permission  are  hereby  granted  to  said  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company  to  make  from  time  to  time  all  such  changes  as 
may  be  necessary,  convenient  or  desirable  in  the  alignment,  rearrangement  and 
reconstruction  of  the  railroad  tracks  known  as  the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  in  order 
to  enable  them  to  be  hereafter  reconstructed  as  from  time  to  time  may  be  de- 
sired, also  with  a  southeasterly  curve  extending  to  the  waylands  acquired  or  to 
be  acquired  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

Section  IX.  That  the  City  of  Chicago  hereby  consents  to  the  use,  for  rail- 
road purposes,  of  the  penetrating  and  submerged  lands  situated  east  of  the  pres- 
ent tracks  of  the  Company  and  west  of  the  proposed  boundary  line  (described 
in  the  said  contract  dated  December  11,  1911,  between  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  and  heretofore  set  out  in  the 
copy  of  the  said  contract  in  the  first  recital  of  this  ordinance),  throughout  its 
entire  length,  and  to  the  location  of  the  tracks  of  the  Company  thereon.  Pro- 
vided, however,  that,  subject  to  existing  leases  if  any,  that  part  of  the  submerged 
and  penetrating,  and  made  lands  if  any,  in  question,  lying  west  of  the  proposed 
boundary  line  and  east  of  the  present  200  foot  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  Company  between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets,  shall  not  be 
used  for  any  railroad  purpose  other  than  tracks,  switches,  turnouts  and  pas- 
senger stations,  without  the  express  consent  of  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of 
Chicago,  provided  further,  however,  that  the  City  of  Chicago  shall  first  grant  and 
convey  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  all  that  tract  of  land,  together  with  all 
Improvements  thereon  situated,  known  as  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Sta- 
tion and  more  specifically  described  in  Section  III  of  this  ordinance,  whenever 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  provide  for  the  City  of  Chicago  a  Pumping 
Station  and  site  therefor,  for  the  same  purpose,  acceptable  to  the  City  of  Chicago 
and  the  Sanitary  District,  and  the  last  paragraph  of  Article  I  of  said  contract 
dated  December  11,  1911,  shall  be  carried  out  in  reference  to  the  division  of  the 
land  and  the  expense  as  therein  provided.  The  Railroad  Company  shall  have 
the  right  to  locate  its  tracks  upon  the  part  of  the  said  pumping  station  site  to 
which  it  shall  be  entitled  under  this  agreement. 

OBLIGATIONS  OF  THE   ILLINOIS   CENTRAL   RAILROAD   COMPANY. 

Section  X.  That  in  the  event  that  the  City  of  Chicago  shall  establish  a 
Harbor  District  lying  between  the  north  line  of  Sixteenth  Street  ex- 
tended east  and  the  north  line  of  Twenty-second  Street  extended  east, 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  consents  that  the  City  of  Chicago  may,  at 
its  own  expense,  construct  two  viaducts  over  the  lands  and  tracks  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  acauired  or  to  be  acquired,  in  order  to  obtain  access 
to  the  said  Harbor,  provided  that  the  said  viaducts  shall  be  subject  to  the  same 
provisions  as  those  contained  in  the  said  contract  dated  December  11,  1911,  in 
regard  to  the  proposed  viaduct  to  be  constructed  by  the  South  Park  Commission- 
ers at  Twenty-second  Street.  One  of  these  viaducts  shall  be  parallel  with  Six- 
teenth Street  if  extended  easterly  and  adjacent  to  the  line  of  the  St.  Charles 
Air  Line.  The  other  shall  be  parallel  with  Forty-first  Street  if  extended  easterly 
and  adjacent  to  the  line  of  the  Belt  Railroad  tracks. 

Section  XI.  That  if  the  work  of  filling  in  the  submerged  lands  to  be 
acquired  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  under  the  said  contract  shall 
not  be  done  concurrently  with  the  work  of  filling  to  be  done  by  the  South  Park 
Commissioners,  then  the  said  Company  shall  make  a  fill  on  the  easterly  boundary 
of  the  said  submerged  lands  to  be  acquired  by  it  concurrently  with  the  filling 
being  done  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners  so  that  the  work  of  the  latter  may 
proceed  independently  of  that  of  said  Company. 

GRANTS   AND    UNDERTAKINGS    BY    THE    SOUTH    PARK    COMMISSIONERS. 

Section  XII.  That  all  riparian  rights  in  and  to  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan 
from  the  north  line  of  Sixteenth  Street  extended  east  to  the  north  line  of  Twenty- 
second  Street  extended  east  and  the  submerged  lands  adjacent  to  said  shore  not 
filled  in  or  to  be  filled  in  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners  shall,  so  far  as  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  is  concerned,  belong  to  the  City  of  Chicago  in  per- 


330 

petuity,  to  be  used  by  said  City,  however,  only  in  the  event  that  such  submerged 
lands  may  be  required  by  said  City  for  harbor  purposes. 

Section  XIII.  That  the  City  of  Chicago  may  enter  across  and  over  any  lands 
which  may  be  owned  or  acquired  by  said  South  Park  Commissioners  with  not 
more  than  six  (6)  tracks  on  or  adjacent  to  one  of  the  following  streets:  Six- 
teenth Street,  Eighteenth  Street,  Nineteenth  Street,  Twentieth  Street  or  Twenty- 
first  Street;  and  may  also  use  and  occupy  a  right  of  way  from  Forty -first  Street 
to  Sixteenth  Street  for  not  more  than  four  (4)  tracks  located  immediately  east 
of  the  right  of  way  to  be  acquired  in  accordance  with  said  contract  dated  Decem- 
ber 11,  1911,  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company;  it  being  further  under- 
stood that  the  Commissioners  will  grant  to  the  City  free  and  suitable  access  to 
said  harbor  when  established. 

Section  XIV.  That  said  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  arrange  as  soon  as 
may  be  for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  a  public  pier  for  passenger  and 
excursion  boats  at  Twenty-second  Street  accessible  by  bridge  over  or  tunnels 
under  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company.  Said  South  Park 
Commissioners  shall  also  install  and  maintain  two  public  bathing  beaches  with 
adequate  buildings  and  facilities  between  Twenty-second  Street  and  Jackson 
Park,  said  beaches  to  be  accessible  by  tunnels  under  or  bridges  over  the  tracks  of 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

Section  XV.  That  said  South  Park  Commissioners  whenever  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago turns  over  South  Park  Avenue  to  said  South  Park  Commissioners  for 
boulevard  purposes,  shall  cause  said  South  Park  Avenue  to  be  extended  without 
expense  to  the  City  of  Chicago  northward  from  Twenty-second  Street  across  the 
tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  shall  cause  a  suitable 
viaduct  to  be  built  connecting  said  South  Park  Avenue  as  extended  with  the  park 
property  on  the  east  side  of  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

BESEEVATION  OF  THE  POLICE  POWER  AND  THE  POWER   OF  EMINENT  DOMAIN  IN  THE  CITT 
OF  CHICAGO  AND  THE  SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSIONERS. 

Section  XVI.  That  nothing  in  this  ordinance  contained  shall  be  construed 
to  modify,  limit  or  abridge  in  any  wise  the  police  powers  of  the  City  of  Chicago, 
or  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  Illinois,  or  the  right  of  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
to  pass  and  enforce  all  needful  and  proper  ordinances  in  the  exercise  of  said 
police  powers  vested  in  them  respectively;  nor  shall  anything  in  this  ordinance 
contained  in  any  wise  modify,  limit  or  abridge  the  powers  of  the  City  of  Chicago 
or  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  from  time  to  time  as  either  of  the  said 
municipalities  may  elect,  to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain  under  the  laws 
of  this  State. 

Section  XVII.  The  words  "penetrating  lands"  refer  to  the  lands  mentioned 
in  the  third  recital  of  said  contract  of  December  11,  1911. 

provision  for  acceptance. 

Section  XVIII.  This  ordinance  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and 
after  its  passage,  provided  that  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  said 
South  Park  Commissioners  shall  each  within  ninety  (90)  days  after  the  passage 
hereof  file  its  acceptance  of  this  ordinance  in  the  office  of  the  City  Clerk  of  the 
City  of  Chicago. 


331 


APPENDIX  a. 

1.  Opinion  of  Corporation  Counsel  on  Proposed  Ordinance 

Considered  by  Committee  of  City  Council  on  Harbors, 
Wharves  and  Bridges,  December  23,  1911,  Ratifying 
Agreement  op  December  11,  1911,  Between  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad 
Company ; 

2.  New   Ordinance   Prepared   by   Corporation   Counsel   and 

Transmitted  to  the  Committee  with  Said  Opinion. 

1.     OPINION. 

January  16,  1912. 
Hoif.  Habby  E.  Littleb, 

Chairman,  Committee  on  Har'bors,  Wharves  and  Bridges. 

Deab  Sib: 

At  the  meeting  of  your  committee  on  December  23,  1911,  the  question  of 
ratifying  the  proposed  agreement  of  December  11,  1911,  entered  into  between 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  was 
under  discussion.  It  was  proposed  to  ratify  said  agreement  by  the  adoption 
of  an  ordinance  by  the  City  Council,  reciting  said  agreement  and  containing 
certain  other  provisions.  On  motion  of  Alderman  Geiger  it  was  ordered  that 
the  law  department  furnish  an  opinion  explaining  the  said  contract  or  agree- 
ment, the  proposed  pending  litigation  for  the  reclamation  of  certain  lands  bor- 
dering on  Lake  Michigan,  and  the  effect  of  said  contract  and  proposed  ordinance 
on  said   litigation. 

We  are  also  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  8th  inst.  in  which  you  enumerate 
specifically  the  points  you  wish  covered  by  our  opinion  in  response  to  the 
original  reference  of  the  subject  matter  to  this  department.  We  will  discuss 
these  specific  points  without  taking  them  up  according  to  the  subdivisions  in 
your  letter. 

Since  your  meeting  of  December  23,  1911,  there  have  been  numerous  con- 
ferences participated  in  by  counsel  representing  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  City.  In  some  of  these  con- 
ferences Mayor  Harrison,  Mr.  Hutchinson  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners, 
Alderman  Long  and  yourself  were  present.  Assistant  Corporation  Counsel 
Skinner,  who  has  had  charge  of  the  reclamation  suits,  or  Mr.  Hoyne,  has  been 
present  at  all  the  conferences  and  both  at  most  of  them.  The  object  of  these 
conferences  has  been  to  draft  an  ordinance  which  would  embody  the  policy  or 
agreement  settled  upon  at  the  earlier  conferences  between  Mayor  Harrison  and 
Alderman  Long  representing  the  City,  Judge  Payne  and  Mr.  Redfield  representing 
the  South  Park  Commissioners,  and  Mr.  Markham  or  Mr.  Lee  representing  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  and  which  would  also  properly  safeguard 
the  interests  of  the  City  of  Chicago.  On  the  5th  inst.,  two  final  meetings  were 
had  with  reference  to  this  project  in  the  office  of  the  Corporation  Counsel,  at 
which  Corporation  Counsel  Sexton  was  also  present.  No  agreement  was  reached 
as  a  result  of  these  final  conferences.  Since  that  time  we  have  been  engaged 
in  an  attempt  to  draft  an  ordinance  which  will  be  satisfactory  to  the  City  so  far 
as  the  law  department  is  concerned  and  at  the  same  time  will  adhere  to  the  lines 
of  the  tentative  agreement  reached. 

We  submit  the  following  for  the  consideration  of  your  committee: 


332 

The  proposed  ordinance  as  presented  to  your  committee  is  unsatisfactory 
because  it  contains  a  blanket  ratification  of  the  agreement  between  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  to  which  agree- 
ment the  City  of  Chicago  is  not  a  party.  The  City  of  Chicago  took  no  part  in  the 
preparation  of  said  agreement. 

Many  of  its  sections  are  ambiguous  and  capable  of  a  construction  which 
would  give  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  valuable  rights  not  contem- 
plated by  the  preliminary  or  tentative  agreement  made  between  the  Mayor,  South 
Park  Commissioners  and  representatives  of  said   Company. 

By  the  terms  of  Section  8  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  would  have 
authority  to  re-arrange  the  tracks  of  the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  so  that  it  would 
run  in  a  southeasterly  direction  from  Michigan  Avenue  near  Sixteenth  Street  to 
some  southerly  point,  for  example.  Thirty-ninth  Street,  crossing  all  the  interven- 
ing streets  and  alleys.  Counsel  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  con- 
cedes that  under  said  proposed  ordinance  the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  would  have 
authority  to  construct  and  maintain  two  additional  tracks  from  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral right  of  way  adjoining  and  paralleling  the  present  tracks  of  the  St.  Charles 
Air  Line  extending  westerly  to  the  western  limits  of  the  present  tracks  of  said 
St.  Charles  Air  Line,  and  the  City  would  not  be  in  a  position  to  object  that  the 
St.  Charles  Air  Line  had  not  the  consent  of  the  city  to  construct  these  two  addi- 
tional tracks  across  streets  and  alleys. 

Other  sections  are  also  ambiguous  and  require  correction,  but  our  basic  objec- 
tion to  the  proposed  ordinance  is  the  blanket  ratification  of  the  contract  of  De- 
cember 11,  1911,  found  in  Section  1  thereof. 

We  submit  herewith  our  draft  of  an  ordinance  which  we  think  fairly  em- 
bodies the  tentative  agreement  made  by  the  representatives  of  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago, the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
prior  to  the  drafting  of  the  said  contract  of  December  11,  1911. 

Before  discussing  the  new  ordinance  we  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  your 
committee  to  the  Act  of  May  2,  1907,  entitled, 

"An  Act  authorizing  park  commissioners  to  acquire  and  improve  submerged 
and  shore  lands  for  park  purposes,  providing  for  the  payment  therefor  and  grant- 
ing unto  such  commissioners  certain  rights  and  powers  and  to  riparian  owners 
certain  rights  and  titles." 

Section  2  of  the  Act  directs  the  park  commissioners  in  all  cases  where  they 
have  acquired  or  contracted  to  acquire  "the  riparian  rights  of  the  owners  of  any 
lands  along  the  shore  adjoining  such  submerged  lands  and  shall  have  agreed 
upon  the  dividing  line  aforesaid,"  to  file  bills  in  chancery  in  the  Circuit  Court  of 
the  county  in  which  the  lands  are  situated,  praying  that  the  boundary  line  agreed 
upon  under  any  such  contracts  "may  be  established  and  confirmed  by  the  decree 
of  said  court."  Section  2  further  provides  that  the  court,  if  satisfied  that  the 
rights  and  interests  of  the  public  have  been  duly  conserved  by  the  agreement 
made,  shall  confirm  said  agreement  and  establish  such  boundary  line  which  shall 
thereafter  be  the  permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line  of  said  lands  and  shall 
not  be. affected  or  changed  thereafter  either  by  accretions  or  erosions;  that  "the 
owners  of  said  shore  lands  are  granted  iy  the  State  of  Illinois  the  title  to  the  sub- 
merged lands  lying  between  said  boundary  line  when  so  established  and  the 
shore  adjacent  thereto,  and  they  shall  have  the  right  to  fill  in,  improve,  protect, 
use  for  all  lawful  purposes,  sell  and  convey  said  submerged  lands  up  to  the  line 
so  established  free  from,  any  adverse  claim  in  any  way  arising  out  of  any  question 
as  to  where  the  shore  line  was  at  any  time  in  the  past  or  as  to  the  title  to  any 
existing  accretions." 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  language  quoted  from  said  Act  of  1907  that  if  the 
contract  entered  into  between  the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  is  confirmed  by  decree  of  the  Circuit  Court,  the  City 
of  Chicago  is  without  power  in  the  premises  and  that  the  title  of  the  said  com- 
pany to  all  of  the  lands  now  in  dispute  and  the  subject  of  pending  litigation  insti- 
tuted by  the  State  and  prosecuted  by  the  Attorney  General  with  the  assistance 
of  his  local  special  counsel  and  the  city  law  department,  will  be  established  and 
confirmed  for  all  time  at  least  so  far  as  the  City  of  Chicago  is  concerned. 

The  location  and  direction  of  the  shore  line  of  Lake  Michigan  in  1852  is 
shown  by  a  map  prepared  by  the  title  expert  of  the  map  department,  based  on 


333 

surveys  along  the  lake  shore.  This  map  not  only  shows  the  original  shore  line 
and  that  much  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company's  present  right  of  way 
is  on  land  east  of  said  shore  line,  but  also  precisely  what  new  land  may  be 
made  by  filling  by  the  said  company  under  the  proposed  agreement  and  ordi- 
nance. 

Turning  now  to  the  new  ordinance  submitted  herewith,  we  call  attention  to 
the  main  distinction  between  it  and  said  proposed  ordinance  heretofore  submitted 
to  your  committee;  that  is,  that  there  is  no  ratification  of  the  contract  of  Decem- 
ber 11,  1911,  nor  reference  thereto  except  the  reference  found  in  the  preamble  of 
said  new  ordinance. 

Sections  1,  2,  3  and  4  are  substantially  the  same  as  Sections  2,  3,  4  and  5, 
respectively,  of  said  proposed  ordinance  and  follow  the  corresponding  articles  in 
the  agreement  between  the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company.  By  Section  5  of  the  new  ordinance  the  city  expressly  con- 
sents to  the  filling  in,  use  and  occupation  of  the  submerged  lands  described  in 
Section  9  of  the  ordinance.  This  section  is  inserted  in  the  ordinance  at  the  re- 
quest of  counsel  for  said  company,  although  as  indicated  above,  we  do  not  feel, 
in  view  of  the  powers  given  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  by  the  Act  of  1907 
that  such  consent  of  the  City  of  Chicago  is  necessary  except  as  an  indication 
that  the  city  is  in  sympathy  with  the  proposed  project  and  will  not  seek  to 
hinder  its  consummation.  The  necessity  for  Section  5  is  said  to  arise  from  the 
elimination  of  Section  1  of  the  proposed  ordinance,  which  contained  a  general 
ratification  of  the  contract  of  December  11,  1911. 

Sections  6  and  7  of  the  new  ordinance  are  substantially  the  same  as  the  like 
numbered  sections  of  the  proposed  ordinance.  These  sections  relate  to  the  con- 
struction of  a  passenger  station  and  terminal  and  provide  for  the  vacation  of  por- 
tions of  certain  streets  and  alleys. 

Section  8  of  the  new  ordinance  authorizes  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  to  change  the  location  of  the  existing  bridge  of  the  St.  Charles  Air 
Line  over  Indiana  Avenue  by  moving  it  not  to  exceed  150  feet  in  either  di- 
rection and  to  construct  an  additional  connection  from  the  St.  Charles  Air 
Line  with  a  southeasterly  curve  extending  across  Indiana  Avenue  and  the  alley 
therein  mentioned  and  also  to  the  building  of  bridges  across  said  avenue  and 
street  for  such  connection. 

Section  9  is  the  most  important  section  in  the  new  ordinance.  The  modifica- 
tions suggested  by  this  department,  yourself  and  Alderman  Long  have  not  been 
accepted  by  counsel  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company.  So  far  as  the 
description  of  the  land  to  be  acquired  by  said  company  is  concerned,  the  section 
agrees  with  and  adopts  the  boundary  line  provided  for  in  the  contract  of^Decem- 
ber  11,  1911,  and  the  description  of  the  land  to  be  obtained  meets  with  the  tenta- 
tive agreement  between  all  the  parties  prior  to  the  drafting  of  said  contract.  The 
map  prepared  by  the  title  expert  of  the  map  department  above  referred  to 
shows  that  under  the  description  contained  in  Section  9  the  company  will  obtain 
approximately  42  acres  of  land  and  118  acres  of  water  which  it  may  fill  in  and 
use  for  the  purposes  mentioned  in  said  ordinance.  This  map  shows  the  area  of 
water  which  the  South  Park  Commissioners  will  obtain  for  museum  purposes 
when  the  same  has  been  filled  in.  In  consideration  of  these  grants  to  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  the  public  as  represented  by  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners, and  the  City  of  Chicago,  will  deprive  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany of  all  riparian  rights  claimed  by  it  along  the  lake  shore  as  shown  by  said 
map,  the  land  on  which  the  present  Illinois  Central  passenger  station  stands  and 
other  valuable  rights. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Section  9  contains  a  limitation  on  the  uses  to  which 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  may  devote  the  newly  acquired  land  lying 
between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets.  It  is  provided  that  the  company  may 
use  the  newly  acquired  land  between  the  points  mentioned  only  for  tracks, 
switches,  turnouts  and  passenger  stations  unless  it  obtains  the  express  consent 
of  the  City  of  Chicago  to  its  use  for  other  railroad  purposes.  It  is  thought  that 
such  a  limitation  is  essential  in  order  to  prevent  the  railroad  company  from  con- 
structing warehouses,  freight  depots,  round  houses  and  other  structures  of  a 
more  or  less  objectionable  character  on  the  land  bordering  on  the  adjacent  resi- 
dence district.    The  limitation  contained  in  said  Section  9  also  includes  the  pres- 


334 

ent  200  foot  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  in  this 
respect  we  understand  is  not  satisfactory  to  the  company.  Its  counsel  has  also 
vigorously  insisted  that  this  restriction  and  limitation  be  made  contingent  upon 
the  conveyance  by  the  City  of  Chicago  of  the  site  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Street 
Pumping  Station.  The  effect  of  such  provision  would  be  that  until  such  convey- 
ance was  made  the  railroad  company  would  be  free  to  devote  the  newly  acquired 
land  to  other  purposes.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  said  company  might  move 
its  tracks  from  its  present  right  of  way  east  to  the  newly  acquired  land  and 
then  devote  its  present  right  of  way  to  warehouses,  freight  depots,  round  houses, 
grain  elevators,  etc.,  or  to  other  manufacturing  and  commercial  purposes. 

The  important  legal  question  that  arises  in  connection  with  Section  9  or  one 
similar  thereto  is,  whether  the  City  of  Chicago  can  by  ordinance  restrict  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company  to  certain  or  particular  uses  of  the  newly  ac- 
quired land  in  view  of  the  broad  powers  above  referred  to  given  to  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  by  the  Act  of  1907.  Under  the  contract  of  December  11, 
1911,  the  South  Park  Commissioners  agree  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  that  the  railroad  company  may  use  the  newly  acquired  land  for  any 
lawful  purpose,  and  this  agreement,  taken  in  connection  with  Section  2  of  the  Act 
of  1907  would  authorize  the  said  company  to  construct  warehouses,  freight 
depots,  factories,  grain  elevators,  flat  buildings,  hotels  or  other  buildings  devoted 
to  a  lawful  use,  or  to  sell  and  convey  said  newly  acquired  land  to  other  persons 
or  corporations  to  be  used  for  commercial  or  other  lawful  purposes. 

It  is  our  opinion,  however,  that  inasmuch  as  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  under  its  charter  must  obtain  the  consent  of  the  City  of  Chicago  to 
locate  its  tracks  within  the  limits  of  the  city,  and  inasmuch,  further,  as  the  pro- 
posed ordinance  consents  to  the  location  of  the  tracks  of  the  company  across  cer- 
tain streets  and  alleys  and  further  vacates  certain  streets  and  alleys  and  pro- 
vides for  the  relocation  and  construction  of  certain  bridges,  there  is  ample  con- 
sideration for  the  limitation  placed  on  the  use  of  the  land  of  said  company  by 
Section  9,  and  that  said  company  having  accepted  the  benefits  of  the  ordinance 
would  not  be  permitted  to  reject  its  obligations. 

Section  9  of  the  new  ordinance  accordingly  expressly  recites  that  the  con- 
sent, permission  and  authority  and  the  vacations  provided  for  in  the  various  sec- 
tions of  said  ordinance  are  made  the  consideration  for  the  restrictions  and  limi- 
tations set  forth  in  Section  9  and  for  all  the  other  undertakings,  obligations  and 
benefits  in  said  ordinance  contained  to  be  done  or  performed  by  said  company. 

Section  10  relates  to  the  construction  of  two  viaducts  at  certain  points 
named. 

Section  11  deals  with  the  work  of  filling  in  the  submerged  land  to  be  acquired 
by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  substantially  agrees  with  Section 
11  of  the  proposed  ordinance. 

Section  12  provides  for  the  city's  acquisition  of  riparian  rights  if  they  are 
needed  for  the  purposes  of  a  harbor  between  Sixteenth  and  Twenty-second 
Streets.  We  understand  it  is  not  satisfactory  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company. 

Section  13  is  the  same  as  Section  13  of  the  proposed  ordinance,  but  has  been 
modified  by  adding  the  words  "by  viaduct"  in  the  second  line  after  the  words 
"across  and  over",  and  by  providing  at  the  close  of  the  section  that  the  expense 
of  constructing  the  railroad  tracks  and  viaducts  referred  to  in  said  section  shall 
be  borne  by  the  city. 

Section  14  is  the  same  as  Section  14  of  the  proposed  ordinance,  but  has  been 
modified  by  providing  that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  by  its  accept- 
ance of  the  ordinance  consents  to  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  tunnels 
and  viaducts  as  therein  provided,  but  said  company  may  elect  whether  such 
crossing  or  crossings  shall  be  by  viaducts  or  tunnels,  and  that  the  city  shall  cross 
by  viaducts  or  tunnels  according  to  the  company's  election  as  to  which  method  it 
prefers. 

Section  15  is  substantially  the  same  as  in  the  proposed  ordinance  except  that 
the  word  "northward"  has  been  stricken  out,  but  no  change  has  thereby  been 
made  in  the  meaning  or  effect  of  the  section. 

Section  16  contains  a  new  clause  providing  that  none  of  the  city's  rights 
under  existing  laws  or  ordinances  are  waived  or  impaired. 


335 

We  have  kept  in  mind  in  the  foregoing  discussion  that  this  department  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  wisdom  or  policy  of  the  proposed  ordinance,  which  is  a 
subject  committed  to  the  Mayor  and  City  Council.  In  framing  this  ordinance  we 
have  endeavored  to  embody  what  we  understand  to  be  the  tentative  agreement 
between  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
and  the  City  of  Chicago  as  represented  by  the  Mayor,  the  chairman  of  your  com- 
mittee and  the  chairman  of  your  sub-committee. 

Yours  very  truly, 

James  G.  Skinner, 
Assistant  Corporation  Counsel. 
Maclay  Hoyne, 
Appboved:  First  Assistant  Corporation  Counsel. 

Wm.  H.  Sexton, 

Corporation  Counsel. 


2.     NEW  ORDINANCE. 

prepared  by  corporation  counsel. 

Whereas,  on  December  11,  1911,  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  a  municipal 
corporation,  entered  into  a  certain  contract  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  a  corporation,  in  respect  to  certain  lands  adjoining  and  under  the 
waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  making  provision  for  the  location  of  the  Field  Museum 
of  National  History,  and  for  other  purposes,  and  the  City  of  Chicago  is  willing 
to  aid  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  said  contract  to  the  extent  hereinafter  set 
forth, 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago: 

Section  I.  That  the  City  of  Chicago  hereby  grants,  conveys,  transfers,  sur- 
renders and  relinquishes  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  for  museum  and 
other  park  purposes,  all  of  its  riparian  rights  in  the  submerged  lands  located  and 
lying  as  follows,  namely,  the  basin  south  of  the  south  line  of  Lake  Park  Place 
extended  east,  east  of  the  east  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company's 
waylands  and  north  of  the  north  line  of  said  company's  Thirteenth  Street  pier, 
and  extending  eastwardly  so  far  as  the  City  of  Chicago  has  the  right  to  convey. 
Said  City  of  Chicago  also  grants,  conveys,  transfers,  surrenders  and  relinquishes 
to  said  South  Park  Commissioners,  for  museum  and  other  park  purposes,  all 
other  title,  right  or  interest  which  said  City  of  Chicago  has  in  and  to  said  lands 
and  submerged  lands,  and  consents  that  said  South  Park  Commissioners  may 
reclaim  and  fill  in  all  of  said  submerged  lands  and  make  use  of  the  same  as  a 
site  for  the  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History,  or  other  museum,  or  for  any  other 
park  purposes. 

Section  II.  That  the  City  of  Chicago  hereby  grants-,  conveys,  transfers,  sur- 
renders and  relinquishes  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners  all  riparian  rights 
appurtenant  to  the  tract  of  land  known  as  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping 
Station,  the  same  being  situated  east  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company's 
right  of  way,  and  between  Thirty-eighth  and  Thirty-ninth  Streets  extended  east, 
and  near  Thirty-ninth  Street  extended  east,  in  said  City  of  Chicago,  being  the 
land  conveyed  to  the  City  of  Chicago  by  deed  from  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  dated  August  17,  1898,  which  for  purposes  of  description  is  hereby 
referred  to  and  made  a  part  hereof,  and  all  lands  made  and  reclaimed  for  said 
Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station  by  said  City  of  Chicago. 

Section  III.  That  all  that  portion  of  Lake  Park  Place,  sometimes  called 
Park  Row,  extending  from  the  east  line  of  Michigan  Avenue  to  the  right  of  way 
of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  and  all  alleys  in  Block  Twenty-three 
(23)  in  fractional  Section  Fifteen  (15),  Township  Thirty-nine  (39)  north.  Range 
Fourteen  (14),  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  shall  be  and  the  same  are 
hereby  vacated.  Such  vacations  shall  be  effective  only  when  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  shall  acquire  all  the  land  between  Lake  Park  Place  aforesaid 
and   Twelfth   Street  and  between  Michigan   Avenue  and   the   waylands   of   the 


336 

Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  for  the  purpose  of  a  park  or  boulevard. 
Said  portion  of  Lake  Park  Place  and  said  alleys,  in  the  event  of  the  acquisi- 
tion of  said  land  by  said  South  Park  Commissioners,  will  no  longer  be  re- 
quired for  public  uses  and  purposes,  and  the  public  interest  will  be  subserved 
by  their  vacation.  The  said  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  and  will  on 
its  part  save  the  City  of  Chicago  harmless  against  any  and  all  damages, 
costs  and  expenses,  if  any,  on  account  of  such  vacations,  and  shall  pay  all  such 
damages  and  costs  as  shall  be  legally  established  by  any  property  owner  or  own- 
ers on  account  of  such  vacations.  Said  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  and  will, 
within  ninety  days  from  and  after  the  time  limited  for  the  acceptance  of  this 
ordinance,  file  in  the  office  of  the  Recorder  of  Deeds  of  Cook  County,  Illinois,  a 
certified  copy  of  this  ordinance. 

Section  IV.  That  consent  is  hereby  given  and  granted  to  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  to  take,  regulate,  improve,  control  and  govern,  as  park  and  boule- 
vards under  its  jurisdiction  are  regulated,  improved,  controlled  and  governed,  all 
that  part  of  East  Twelfth  Street  lying  between  the  east  line  of  Michigan  Avenue 
and  the  west  line  of  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 
Nothing  in  this  ordinance  contained,  however,  shall  be  construed  as  a  waiver  or 
relinquishment  by  the  City  of  Chicago  of  any  of  its  rights  or  powers  relating  to 
the  laying  of  water  mains  and  pipes,  or  the  building  or  repairing  of  sewers  or 
drains,  or  the  laying  of  electric  or  other  wires  or  conduits  therefor,  now  or  here- 
after controlled  by  said  city,  or  the  regulating  of  openings  for  the  same,  or  the 
making  of  other  underground  improvements  in  said  East  Twelfth  Street  by  said 
city.  The  consent  hereby  granted  to  said  South  Park  Commissioners  to  take, 
regulate,  improve,  control  and  govern  the  portion  of  East  Twelfth  Street  in  this 
section  described,  is  upon  the  condition  that  said  South  Park  Commissioners 
shall  within  six  months  after  the  acceptance  of  this  ordinance  elect  to  take  and 
take  said  portion  of  East  Twelfth  Street. 

Section  V.  The  City  of  Chicago  hereby  consents  that  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners may  reclaim,  fill  in,  use,  and  occupy  subject  to  the  limitations  in 
this  ordinance  contained,  the  submerged,  penetrating  and  made  lands  east  of  the 
proposed  boundary  line  described  in  Section  9  of  this  ordinance  and  that  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company  may  reclaim,  fill  in,  use  and  occupy  the  sub- 
merged, penetrating  and  made  lands  situated  east  of  its  present  tracks  and  west 
of  the  said  proposed  boundary  line. 

Section  VI.  That  permission  and  authority  are  hereby  granted  to  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company,  its  lessees,  licensees,  successors  and  assigns,  to 
construct,  maintain,  use  and  operate  from  time  to  time  a  railroad  passenger  sta- 
tion and  passenger  terminal,  with  all  the  facilities  and  appurtenances  necessary 
thereto,  as  may  be  found  by  said  company,  its  lessees,  licensees,  successors  and 
assigns,  desirable  and  convenient,  within  the  space  or  area  bounded  as  follows: 
on  the  north  by  a  line  eighty-five  (85)  feet  south  of  and  parallel  to  the  south 
line  of  Twelfth  Street  as  at  present  existing;  on  the  west  by  the  east  line  of 
Michigan  Avenue;  on  the  south  by  Thirteenth  Street;  and  on  the  east  by  the  west 
line  of  the  waylands  of  said  company  and  including  those  portions  of  streets  and 
alleys  described  in  the  following  section,  including  the  right  to  construct  and 
use  thereon  all  tracks,  buildings,  structures  and  appliances  of  every  kind  essen- 
tial or  convenient  for  such  passenger  station  and  passenger  terminal  as  herein 
authorized  and  provided. 

Section  VII.  That  the  portion  of  Indiana  Avenue  described  as  follows:  Ex- 
tending from  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  to  the  south  line  of  Twelfth 
Street,  and  also  that  portion  of  Indiana  Avenue  at  the  intersection  of  Thirteenth 
Street  in  the  shape  of  a  right  angled  triangle  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  east  line 
of  Indiana  Avenue,  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street 
produced  easterly  across  Indiana  Avenue,  bounded  on  the  west  by  a  line  drawn 
from  the  northwest  corner  of  Indiana  Avenue  and  Thirteenth  Street,  to  the  point 
where  the  south  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  produced  easterly  intersects  the  east 
line  of  Indiana  Avenue;  and  also  that  portion  of  the  alley  running  north  and 
south  between  Michigan  Avenue  and  Indiana  Avenue  extending  one  hundred  and 
eighty-three  (183)  feet  south  of  the  south  line  of  East  Twelfth  Street,  are  both 
hereby  vacated.    Said  portion  of  said  street  and  said  portion  of  said  alley  are  no 


337 

longer  required  for  public  uses  and  purposes,  and  the  public  interest  will  be  sub- 
served by  their  vacation. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  shall  and  will  on  its  part  protect  and 
save  the  City  of  Chicago  harmless  against  any  and  all  damages,  costs  and  ex- 
penses on  account  of  such  vacation,  if  any,  and  shall  pay  all  such  damages  and 
costs  as  shall  be  legally  established  by  any  property  owner  or  owners  on  account 
of  such  vacation.  The  vacation  of  said  portion  of  Indiana  Avenue  and  said 
portion  of  said  alley  shall  be  effective  only  when  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  shall  acquire  the  right  to  use  for  railroad  or  depot  purposes  all  the  land 
abutting  on  the  west  side  of  Indiana  Avenue  between  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth 
Streets. 

Section  VIII.  That  consent  and  permission  are  hereby  granted  to  said  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company  to  change  the  location  of  the  existing  bridge  of 
the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  over  Indiana  Avenue  by  moving  it  a  distance  not  exceed- 
ing one  hundred  and  fifty  (150)  feet  in  either  direction,  and  to  construct  an  addi- 
tional connection  from  a  point  on  the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  between  Michigan 
Avenue  and  Indiana  Avenue  with  a  southeasterly  curve  extending  to  the  way- 
lands  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  and 
to  build  a  bridge  over  Indiana  Avenue  and  a  bridge  over  the  alley  north  of  Six- 
teenth Street  and  east  of  Indiana  Avenue  for  the  southeasterly  connection  before 
mentioned,  the  said  bridges  to  be  of  sufficient  width  to  accommodate  the  number 
of  tracks  now  existing  between  Michigan  Avenue  and  Indiana  Avenue.  The 
bridges  so  erected  or  re-constructed  shall  be  of  similar  construction  to  the  exist- 
ing bridge  over  Indiana  Avenue  and  be  built  in  accordance  with  plans  and  speci- 
fications to  be  approved  by  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Works  of  the  City  of 
Chicago. 

Section  IX.  That  the  City  of  Chicago  hereby  consents  to  the  use  for  rail- 
road purposes  of,  and  the  location  of  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  on,  the  penetrating,  made,  submerged  lands  and  other  lands  situated 
east  of  the  present  tracks  of  the  said  company  and  west  of  the  proposed  boundary 
line   described   as   follows: 

Commencing  at  a  point  in  the  south  line  of  Lake  Park  Place,  produced  east- 
erly, which  is  seven  hundred  and  sixty-one  (761)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of 
Michigan  Avenue,  and  extending  thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  to  inter- 
sect with  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  produced  east  at  a  point  seven  hun- 
dred (700)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of  Indiana  Avenue,  thence  southeasterly  in 
a  straight  line  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Eighteenth  Street  produced 
east  at  a  point  six  hundred  and  sixty  (660)  feet  east  of,  measured  at  right  angles 
to,  the  westerly  line  of  the  company's  waylands  as  now  established;  thence 
southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  parallel  to  and  six  hundred  and  sixty  (660)  feet 
from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  the  intersection  with  the  north  line  of 
Twenty-ninth  Street  produced  east;  thence  southerly  in  a  straight  line  to  inter- 
sect with  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  Street  produced  east  at  a  point  four 
hundred  (400)  feet  easterly  from,  measured  at  right  angles  to  said  westerly 
waylands  line;  thence  southeasterly,  parallel  to  and  four  hundred  (400)  feet 
easterly  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  center  line 
of  Forty-first  Street  produced  east;  thence  continuing  southerly  parallel  to 
and  four  hundred  and  fifty  (450)  feet  easterly  from  said  westerly  waylands 
line  to  intersect  with  the  east  line  of  Section  Eleven  (11),  Township  Thirty- 
eight  (38)  north.  Range  Fourteen  (14)  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian, 
provided,  however,  that,  subject  to  any  leases  in  force  December  1,  1911,  if 
any  there  be,  all  submerged,  penetrating  and  made  lands,  and  other  lands, 
lying  west  of  the  proposed  boundary  line  and  east  of  the  west  line  of  the  present 
two  hundred  (200)  foot  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
between  Thirty-first  and  Fifty-first  Streets,  shall  not  be  used  for  any  railroad 
purpose  other  than  tracks,  switches,  turnouts  and  passenger  stations,  without 
the  express  consent  of  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 

The  City  of  Chicago  agrees  that  whenever  the  South  Park  Commissioners 
shall,  without  any  expense  to  said  city,  provide  for  said  city  a  pumping  station 
and  site  therefor  in  lieu  of  the  present  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station, 
acceptable  to  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago,  then  the 
said  City  of  Chicago  shall  transfer  and  convey  to  the  South  Park  Commissioners 


338 

the  tract  of  land  known  as  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station,  including 
the  improvements  thereon,  as  specifically  described  in  Section  2  of  this  ordinance. 
And  upon  the  conveyance  aforesaid  of  said  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station 
to  said  South  Park  Commissioners,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  shall 
have  the  right  to  locate  its  tracks  upon  the  part  of  said  pumping  station  site 
to  which  it  may  be  entitled.  The  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  provide  such 
site  and  pumping  station  as  soon  as  sufficient  land  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present 
site  shall  have  been  reclaimed  to  furnish  a  suitable  site  acceptable  to  said  city 
and  to  the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago,  east  of  said  proposed  boundary  line 
and  east  of  the  right  of  way  provided  for  in  Section  13  of  this  ordinance,  but  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  shall  not  be  obliged  to  use  the  reclaimed  land  for  such 
purpose,  if  it  shall  provide  a  suitable  site  acceptable  to  said  city  and  to  said 
Sanitary  District  elsewhere. 

The  consent  contained  in  Section  5  of  this  ordinance,  the  permission  and 
authority  contained  in  Section  6  of  this  ordinance,  the  vacations  provided  for 
and  contained  in  Sections  3  and  7  of  this  ordinance,  the  consent  and  permission 
provided  for  and  contained  in  Section  8  of  this  ordinance  and  the  grant  and  con- 
veyance of  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station  tract  of  land  (a  portion  of 
which  tract  is  to  be  transferred  and  conveyed  to  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company),  as  provided  for  and  contained  in  this  section  and  Section  2  of  this 
ordinance,  are  each  and  all  jointly  and  severally,  hereby  expressly  declared  to 
be  the  consideration  for  the  restrictions  and  limitations  upon  the  use  of  the 
aforesaid  submerged,  penetrating,  made  and  other  lands  provided  for  in  this  sec- 
tion, and  for  all  the  other  undertakings,  obligations,  benefits,  restrictions  and 
limitations,  in  this  ordinance  contained,  to  be  done,  performed,  observed  or  car- 
ried out  by  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

Section  X.  That  in  the  event  the  City  of  Chicago  shall  locate  a  Harbor  Dis- 
trict lying  wholly  or  in  part  between  the  north  line  of  Sixteenth  Street  extended 
east  and  the  north  line  of  Twenty-second  Street  extended  east,  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  Company  consents  that  the  City  of  Chicago  may  at  its  own  expense, 
construct  two  viaducts  for  railroad  tracks,  general  traffic,  and  other  purposes  over 
the  lands  and  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  acquired  or  to  be 
acquired,  in  order  to  obtain  access  to  the  said  harbor  site  or  location.  Said 
viaducts  shall  conform  in  clearance  and  spans  to  the  proposed  viaducts  to  be 
constructed  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners.  One  of  said  viaducts  shall  be 
parallel  with  the  line  of  Sixteenth  Street  extended  easterly  and  the  other  shall 
be  parallel  with  the  line  of  Forty-first  Street  extended  easterly. 

Section  XI.  That  if  the  work  of  filling  in  the  submerged  lands  to  be  ac- 
quired by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  shall  not  be  done  concurrently 
with  the  work  of  filling  to  be  done  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  then  the 
said  company  shall  make  a  fill  on  the  easterly  boundary  of  the  said  submerged 
lands  to  be  acquired  by  it  concurrently  with  the  filling  being  done  by  the  South 
Park  Commissioners  so  that  the  work  of  the  latter  may  proceed  independently 
of  that  of  said  company. 

Section  XII.  That  all  riparian  rights  in  and  to  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan 
from  the  north  line  of  Sixteenth  Street  extended  east  to  the  north  line  of 
Twenty-second  Street  extended  east,  and  the  submerged  lands  adjoining  on  the 
east  the  lands  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  when  the  same  have  been  filled 
in  and  reclaimed,  as  provided  in  Section  5  of  this  ordinance,  shall  be  the  property 
of  the  City  of  Chicago  in  perpetuity,  to  be  used  by  said  city,  however,  only  in 
the  event  that  said  submerged  lands  and  riparian  rights  may  be  required  by  said 
city  for  harbor  purposes.  In  the  event  that  the  South  Park  Commissioners  shall 
not  within  a  reasonable  time  after  its  acceptance  of  this  ordinance  reclaim  and 
fill  in  the  submerged  lands  east  of  the  proposed  boundary  line  as  provided  for  in 
Sections  ^  and  9  of  this  ordinance,  then  all  said  riparian  rights  between  the 
said  north  and  south  boundary  lines  in  this  section  mentioned  and  the  submerged 
and  other  lands  east  of  the  said  proposed  boundary  line  shall  be  the  property  of 
the  City  of  Chicago  in  perpetuity,  to  be  used  by  said  city,  however,  only  in  the 
event  that  said  submerged  lands  and  riparian  rights  may  be  required  by  said 
city   for  harbor  purposes. 

Section  XIII.  That  the  City  of  Chicago  may  enter  across  and  over  by  via- 
duct any  lands  which  may  be  owned  or  acquired  by  said  South  Park  Commis- 


339 

sioners  with  not  more  than  six  (6)  railroad  tracks  on  or  adjacent  to  the  line 
extended  east  of  one  of  the  following  streets:  Sixteenth  Street,  Eighteenth 
Street,  Nineteenth  Street,  Twentieth  Street  or  Twenty-first  Street;  and  may  also 
use  and  occupy  a  railroad  right  of  way  from  Forty-first  Street  to  Sixteenth  Street 
for  not  more  than  four  (4)  railroad  tracks  located  immediately  east  of  the  pro- 
posed boundary  line  provided  for  in  Section  9  of  this  ordinance.  The  South 
Park  Commissioners  shall  grant  to  the  city  free  and  suitable  access  to  said  harbor 
when  located,  but  the  expense  of  constructing  said  railroad  tracks  and  viaducts 
shall  be  borne  by  said  city. 

Section  XIV.  That  said  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  construct  and 
maintain  a  public  pier  for  passenger  and  excursion  boats  at  Twenty-second  Street 
or  near  Twenty-second  Street  to  the  south  thereof,  accessible  by  viaduct  over  or 
tunnels  under  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company.  Said  South 
Park  Commissioners  shall  also  install  and  maintain  two  public  bathing  beaches 
with  adequate  buildings  and  facilities  between  Twenty-second  Street  and  Jack- 
son Park,  said  beaches  to  be  accessible  by  tunnels  under  or  viaducts  over  the 
tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  by  its  acceptance  of  this  ordinance 
does  hereby  consent  to  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  the  said  tunnels  or 
viaducts  across  its  tracks  and  lands. 

Upon  notice  by  said  city  to  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  of  its  in- 
tention to  construct  said  viaduct  or  tunnels  said  company  shall  immediately  elect 
whether  said  crossing  or  crossings  shall  be  made  by  viaducts  or  tunnels,  and 
thereupon  said  city  shall  make  such  crossing  or  crossings  by  viaducts  or  tunnels, 
as  said  company  may  elect. 

Section  XV.  That  whenever  the  City  of  Chicago  turns  over  South  Park 
Avenue  to  said  South  Park  Commissioners  for  boulevard  purposes,  said  Com- 
missioners shall  cause  said  South  Park  Avenue  to  be  extended  without  expense 
to  the  City  of  Chicago  from  Twenty-second  Street  across  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  and  shall  cause  a  suitable  viaduct  to  be  built  con- 
necting said  South  Park  Avenue  as  extended  with  the  park  property  on  the  east 
side  of  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

Section  XVI.  That  nothing  in  this  ordinance  contained  shall  be  construed 
to  modify,  limit  or  abridge  in  any  wise  the  police  powers  of  the  City  of  Chicago, 
or  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  Illinois,  or  the  right  of  the  City  of  Chicago  or  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners to  pass  and  enforce  all  needful  and  proper  ordinances  in  the  exercise 
of  said  police  powers  vested  in  them  respectively;  nor  shall  anything  in  this 
ordinance  contained  in  any  wise  modify,  limit  or  abridge  the  powers  of  the  City 
of  Chicago  or  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  from  time  to  time  as  either  of 
the  said  municipalities  may  elect,  to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain  under 
the  laws  of  this  State;  nor  shall  anything  in  this  ordinance  contained  in  any 
manner  impair,  lessen  or  waive  the  rights  of  the  City  of  Chicago  or  the  obliga- 
tions of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  under  existing  ordinances  and 
laws,  except  as  herein  expressly  provided. 

Section  XVII.  This  ordinance  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and 
after  its  passage,  provided  that  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and 
said  South  Park  Commissioners  shall  each  within  ninety  (90)  days  after  the 
passage  hereof  file  its  acceptance  of  this  ordinance  in  the  oSice  of  the  City  Clerk 
of  the  City  of  Chicago. 


340 


APPENDIX  H. 

1.  Petition  of  the  South  Paek  Commissioners  to  the  Circuit 

Court  of  Cook  County,  Asking  for  the  Confirmation  of 
the  Agreement  of  March  30,  1912,  Between  Said  Com- 
missioners AND  THE  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany. 

2.  Agreement  of  March  30,  1912,  Between  the  South  Park 

Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany. 

3.  Supplemental  Agreement  of  June  26,  1912,  Between  the 

South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company. 

4.  Final  Decree  of  Judge  Lockwood  Honore,  July  10,  1912. 

1.    petition  of  the  south  park  commissioners  to  the  circuit 

court  OF  COOK  county. 


Statk  of  Illinois,    , 
County  of  Cook 


'•}■ 


In  the  Cibcuit  Court  of  Cook  County. 

Ilf  THE  matter  of  THE  PETITION  OF  THE  SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSIONERS,  PRAYING  THAT 
THE  BOUNDARY  LINE  FIXED  BY  AN  AGREEMENT  BETWEEN  THE  SOUTH  PARK  COMMIS- 
SIONERS AND  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  COMPANY  BE  CONFIRMED  AND  THAT 
THE  BOUNDARY  LINE  BETWEEN  THE  LANDS  TO  BE  ACQUIRED  BY  THE  DEFENDANT, 
THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  COMPANY,  AND  THE  LANDS  TO  BE  ACQUIRED  BY 
YOUB  PETITIONER  UNDER  SAID  CONTRACT  BE  ESTABLISHED  AND  CONFIRMED. 

petition  of  the  south  park  commissioners. 

To  the  Judges  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County,  in  Chancery  Sitting: 

Your  petitioner,  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  a  public  corporation,  re- 
spectfully represents  unto  the  court  as  follows: 

1.  That  it  is  a  municipal  corporation  organized  and  existing  under  the  laws 
of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  more  especially  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  provide 
for  the  location  and  maintenance  of  a  park  for  the  Towns  of  South  Chicago, 
Hyde  Park  and  Lake,"  approved  February  24,  1869;  that  under  the  provisions 
of  said  Act  certain  persons  were  appointed  by  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois and  constituted  the  first  Board  of  South  Park  Commissioners;  that  there- 
after from  time  to  time  the  successors  of  said  South  Park  Commissioners  as  so 
appointed  have  been  appointed  by  the  judge  or  judges  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Cook  County,  as  provided  in  said  Act,  and  that  John  Barton  Payne,  Joseph  Don- 
nersberger,  Henry  G.  Foreman,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson  and  Edward  Tilden  have 


341 

been  appointed  and  commissioned  by  said  judges  of  said  Circuit  Court  as  such 
South  Parle  Commissioners,  and  now  constitute  and  are  the  South  Parlt  Com- 
missioners. 

2.  Ttiat  said  South  Park  Commissioners  now  has,  and  for  more  than  five 
years  last  past  has  had,  control  over  two  separate  public  parks,  namely:  (1) 
Grant  Park,  more  particularly  described  as  the  land  including  all  submerged  land 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  south  line  of  Randolph  Street  extended  in  a  straight 
line  east  from  North  Michigan  Avenue  to  the  harbor  line  established  by  the 
Secretary  of  War  in  Lake  Michigan,  bounded  on  the  east  by  said  harbor  line, 
bounded  on  the  south  (east  of  the  right  of  way,  easement  and  grounds  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company)  by  the  south  line  of  the  street  known  as  Lake 
Park  Place  (formerly  known  as  Park  Row)  extended  in  a  straight  line  east  from 
South  Michigan  Avenue  to  said  harbor  line,  and  (west  of  said  right  of  way, 
easement  and  grounds)  by  the  north  line  of  said  Lake  Park  Place,  and  bounded 
on  the  west  by  the  east  line  of  South  Michigan  Avenue  and  North  Michigan 
Avenue,  excepting,  however,  the  right  of  way,  easement  and  grounds  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  extending  north  and  south  through  said 
Grant  Park,  situated  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  County  of  Cook  and  State  of  Illi- 
nois; and  (2)  Jackson  Park,  more  particularly  described  as  the  land  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  south  line  of  East  Fifty-sixth  Street,  from  the  east  line  of  Stony 
Island  Avenue  to  Lake  Michigan,  on  the  east  by  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan, 
from  the  south  line  of  East  Fifty-sixth  Street  to  a  point  due  east  of  the  center  of 
Section  Twenty-four  (24),  Township  Thirty-eight  (38)  north,  Range  Fourteen 
(14)  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  on  the  south  by  a  line  running  due 
west  from  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  through  the  center  of  said  Section  Twenty- 
four  (24)  to  the  east  line  of  Stony  Island  Avenue,  and  on  the  west  by  the  east 
line  of  Stony  Island  Avenue  from  said  line  through  the  center  of  said  Section 
Twenty-four  (24)  to  the  south  line  of  Fifty-seventh  Street,  the  south  line  of  said 
Fifty-seventh  Street  from  the  east  line  of  said  Stony  Island  Avenue  to  the  east 
line  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company's  right  of  way,  the  east  line  of  said 
right  of  way  from  the  south  line  of  said  Fifty-seventh  Street  to  the  north  line  of 
said  street,  the  north  line  of  said  Fifty-seventh  Street  from  said  east  line  of  said 
right  of  way  to  the  east  line  of  Stony  Island  Avenue,  and  the  east  line  of  said  Stony 
Island  Avenue  from  the  north  line  of  said  Fifty-seventh  Street  to  the  place  of 
beginning;  that  both  of  said  public  parks  border  upon  the  public  waters  of  Lake 
Michigan  within  the  corporate  limits  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  in  the  County  of 
Cook,  in  the  State  of  Illinois. 

3.  That  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  more  especially  under 
the  provisions  of  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  enable  park  commissioners  having 
control  of  a  park  or  parks  bordering  upon  public  waters  in  this  state  to  enlarge 
and  connect  the  same  from  time  to  time  by  extensions  over  lands  and  the  bed  of 
public  waters  and  defining  the  use  which  may  be  made  of  such  extensions  and 
granting  submerged  lands  for  the  purpose  of  such  enlargements,"  approved  May 
14,  1903,  in  force  July  1,  1903,  your  petitioner  now  has,  and  for  more  than  five 
years  last  past  has  had  the  power  to  connect  said  Grant  Park  and  said  Jackson 
Park  by  constructing  a  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway  extending  over  and  upon 
the  bed  of  said  public  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  and  over  and  upon  any  lands  pene- 
trating into  said  waters. 

4.  That  this  petitioner  intends  and  proposes  to  construct  a  boulevard,  drive- 
way and  parkway  extending  over  and  upon  the  bed  of  said  public  waters,  and 
over  and  upon  certain  lands  penetrating  into  said  waters,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
necting said  Grant  Park  and  Jackson  Park. 

5.  That  your  petitioner  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  more  par- 
ticularly said  Act  last  above  mentioned  and  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  authorizing 
park  commissioners  to  acquire  and  improve  submerged  and  shore  lands  for  park 
purposes,  providing  for  the  payment  therefor  and  granting  unto  such  commis- 
sioners certain  rights  and  powers,  and  to  riparian  owners  certain  rights  and 
titles,"  approved  May  2,  1907,  now  has  and  for  more  than  four  years  last  past 
has  had  the  power  to  acquire  the  riparian  and  other  rights  of  the  owners  of  lands, 
whether  individuals  or  corporations,  on  the  shore  adjoining  said  public  waters 
upon  and  over  which  it  is  proposed  to  construct  such  extension  and  connection, 
and  also  has  power  to  acquire  the  title  of  the  private  and  public  owners,  if  any 


342 

there  be,  to  lands  lying  beneath  said  public  waters,  also  to  any  lands  penetrating 
into  said  public  waters  and  to  any  lands  into,  upon  or  over  which  it  is  proposed 
to  construct  said  extension  and  connection  by  contract  with  or  deed  from  any 
such  owner  or  owners. 

6.  That  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  a  corporation  duly  organized 
and  existing  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  is  the  owner  of  the  lands 
and  riparian  rights  (except  as  to  the  two  tracts  described  in  paragraph  8  hereof) 
upon  the  shore  of  said  Lake  Michigan  on  the  inner  or  shore  side  of  the  boundary 
line  hereinafter  mentioned,  which  has  been  agreed  upon  between  said  corpora- 
tion and  your  petitioner,  and  is  the  owner  of  all  riparian  and  other  rights  appur- 
tenant to  said  lands  on  the  shore  adjoining  said  public  waters  upon  and  over 
the  bed  of  which  it  is  proposed  to  construct  such  extension  and  connection,  and 
is  also  the  owner  of  certain  lands  penetrating  into  said  public  waters,  and  the 
riparian  rights  appurtenant  thereto,  upon  and  over  which  lands  it  is  proposed 
by  your  petitioner  to  construct  said  extension  and  connection  as  a  part  of  the  plan 
of  your  petitioner  to  connect  said  Grant  Park  with  said  Jackson  Park  as  afore- 
said. 

7.  That  your  petitioner,  as  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  under  and  in 
accordance  with  the  aforesaid  Act  entitled  "An  Act  authorizing  park  commis- 
sioners to  acquire  and  improve  submerged  and  shore  lands  for  park  purposes,  pro- 
viding for  the  payment  therefor  and  granting  unto  such  commissioners  certain 
rights  and  powers  and  to  riparian  owners  certain  rights  and  titles,"  has  agreed 
with  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  as  such  shore  and  riparian  owner, 
upon  a  boundary  line  dividing  the  submerged  and  penetrating  lands  to  be  ac- 
quired by  your  petitioner  and  the  submerged  and  penetrating  lands  to  be  taken, 
owned  and  used  by  the  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  as  such  shore  and 
riparian  owner  in  lieu  of  and  as  compensation  for  the  release  of  said  riparian 
and  other  rights  to  your  petitioner,  as  set  forth  in  a  certain  agreement  in  writ- 
ing entered  into  by  and  between  your  petitioner  and  said  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company,  and  bearing  date  the  30th  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1912,  a  true  copy 
of  which  said  agreement  is  hereto  attached,  marked  "Exhibit  A,"  and  made  a 
part  hereof. 

The  said  boundary  line  above  mentioned  is  more  particularly  described  as 
follows: 

Commencing  at  a  point  in  the  south  line  of  said  Lake  Park  Place  produced 
east,  that  is  seven  hundred  and  sixty-one  (761)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of  Mich- 
igan Avenue,  and  extending  thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  to  intersect 
with  the  proposed  south  line  of  Twelfth  Street  Boulevard  extended  east,  being  a 
line  one  hundred  and  eighteen  (118)  feet  south  of  the  existing  north  line  of 
Twelfth  Street,  at  a  point  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven  (877)  feet  east  of  the 
west  line  of  Michigan  Avenue;  thence  east  eighty  (80)  feet;  thence  southeasterly 
in  a  straight  line  to  intersect  with  the  south  line  of  Twenty-fifth  Street  ex- 
tended east  at  a  point  six  hundred  and  sixty  (660)  feet  easterly  from,  measured 
at  right  angles  to,  the  westerly  line  of  the  company's  waylands  as  now  estab- 
lished; thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  parallel  to  and  six  hundred  and 
sirty  (660)  feet  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  north 
line  of  Twenty-ninth  Street  extended  east;  thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight 
line  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  Street  extended  east  at  a 
point  three  hundred  (300)  feet  easterly  from,  measured  at  right  angles  to,  said 
westerly  waylands  line;  thence  southeasterly  parallel  to  and  three  hundred  (300) 
feet  easterly  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  north  line 
of  Thirty-ninth  Street  extended  east;  thence  west  along  said  north  line  fifty  (50) 
feet;  thence  southeasterly  parallel  to  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  (250)  feet  east- 
erly from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  center  line  of  Forty- 
first  Street  extended  east;  thence  continuing  southeasterly  on  a  line  parallel 
to  and  three  hundred  (300)  feet  easterly  from  the  company's  westerly  waylands 
line  as  now  established  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Forty-ninth  Street,  ex- 
tended east,  all  within  the  corporate  limits  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  County  of 
Cook  and  State  of  Illinois;  which  said  line,  with  its  courses  and  distances,  is 
shown  in  red  on  the  plat  attached  to  the  copy  of  the  aforesaid  agreement  which 
is  marked  "Exhibit  A"  and  made  a  part  hereof,  and  insofar  as  the  said  line 
is  located  along  and  opposite  lands  on  the  shore  adjoining  the  said  public  waters. 


343 

which,  together  with  the  riparian  rights  pertaining  thereto,  are  now  owned  by 
the  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  it,  the  said  line,  is  hereby  estab- 
lished, acknowledged  and  confirmed,  subject  to  the  approval  of  this  Honorable 
Court,'  as  the  said  permanent  boundary  line  dividing  the  submerged  and  other 
lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners, and  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired,  taken, 
owned  and  used  by  the  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

8.  Your  petitioner  further  represents  that  said  agreement  provides  for  the 
release  to  it  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  for  the  acquisition  by 
your  petitioner  from  said  company,  of  certain  riparian  and  other  rights,  as 
particularly  specified  and  set  forth  in  said  agreement,  a  copy  of  which  is  hereto 
attached  as  Exhibit  "A,"  excepting,  however,  from  the  riparian  and  other  rights 
so  to  be  acquired  by  your  petitioner  as  aforesaid,  the  rights  appurtenant  to  two 
certain  tracts  or  areas  described  as  follows:  (1)  That  certain  tract  of  land  de- 
scribed as  the  part  lying  east  of  the  west  line  of  the  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company,  of  the  northeast  fractional  quarter  (N.  B.  F.  i/i) 
(except  the  south  8.70  chains  thereof),  of  Section  Twenty-seven  (27),  Township 
Thirty-nine  (39)  north.  Range  Fourteen  (14)  east  of  the  third  principal  me- 
ridian, and  (2)  a  tract  or  parcel  of  land  three  hundred  (300)  feet  in  width  (from 
north  to  south)  situated  along  and  upon  either  side  of  the  extension  eastwardly 
of  Thirty-ninth  Street  (formerly  Known  as  Egan  Avenue),  being  that  certain 
parcel  of  land  conveyed  to  the  City  of  Chicago  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  by  quitclaim  deed  dated  August  17,  1898.  All  of  which  riparian  and 
other  rights,  except  as  to  the  said  two  parcels  last  above  described,  are  covered 
by  and  embraced  in  said  contract  hereinbefore  mentioned  between  your  peti- 
tioner and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

9.  That  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  public  have  been  duly  conserved  in 
and  by  said  agreement. 

Wherefore,  your  petitioner,  inasmuch  as  it  has  in  the  manner  aforesaid 
contracted  to  acquire  said  riparian  and  other  rights  of  said  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  adjoining  said  submerged  lands, 
and  has  in  and  by  said  agreement  agreed  upon  the  dividing  line  aforesaid,  as 
described  herein  and  in  said  contract  and  shown  in  red  on  the  plat  thereto  at- 
tached, under  and  in  accordance  with  said  Act,  referred  to  in  paragraph  7  here- 
of, and  with  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  brings  and  files  this,  its  petition, 
on  the  chancery  side  of  this  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County,  in  which  the  lands 
hereinabove  described  are  situated.  In  and  by  this,  its  petition,  your  petitioner 
prays  that  the  boundary  line  between  the  lands  to  be  acquired  by  the  said  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company,  defendant  hereto,  and  the  lands  to  be  acquired  by 
your  petitioner,  as  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  under  and  in  accordance  with 
said  Act  entitled  "An  Act  authorizing  park  commissioners  to  acquire  and  im- 
prove submerged  and  shore  lands  for  park  purposes,  providing  for  the  payment 
therefor,  and  granting  unto  such  commissioners  certain  rights  and  powers  and 
to  riparian  owners  certain  rights  and  titles,"  and  under  said  contract  between 
your  petitioner  and  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  which  boundary  line 
is  more  particularly  hereinbefore  described,  and  is  the  same  boundary  line  which 
is  set  forth  in  paragraph  seven  (7)  of  said  contract,  a  copy  of  which  is  attached 
hereto,  marked  "Exhibit  A,"  may  by  the  decree  of  this  Honorable  Court,  be 
established  and  confirmed  throughout  the  entire  extent  of  said  line  from  the 
south  line  of  Lake  Park  Place  (formerly  known  as  Park  Row)  extended  east- 
wardly to  the  north  line  of  Forty-ninth  Street  extended  eastwardly,  in  the  City 
of  Chicago,  County  of  Cook  and  State  of  Illinois,  except,  however,  that  portion 
adjacent  to  the  land  described  as  that  part  lying  east  of  the  west  line  of  the 
right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  of  the  northeast  frac- 
tional quarter  (N.  E.  fr.  %)  (except  the  south  8.70  chains  thereof)  of  Section 
Twenty-seven  (27),  Township  Thirty-nine  (39)  north.  Range  Fourteen  (14)  east 
of  the  third  (3d)  principal  meridian,  and  except  a  parcel  of  land  three  hundred 
(300)  feet  in  width  situated  along  and  upon  either  side  of  the  eastwardly  ex- 
tension of  Thirty-ninth  Street  (formerly  known  as  Egan  Avenue),  being  that 
parcel  conveyed  to  the  City  of  Chicago  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
by  quit  claim  deed  dated  August   17,  1898,  as  the  same  was  agreed  upon  in 


344 

and  by  said  agreement  by  your  petitioner  and  by  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  is  the  owner  of  the  shore  lands, 
riparian  and  other  rights  embraced  within  and  covered  by  the  said  contract 
made  by  your  petitioner  with  said  railroad  company.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  it 
appears  from  the  records  of  Cook  County,  Illinois,  that  the  following  named 
persons  may  claim  some  interest  in  a  part  of  said  premises,  viz.: 

Kilbourn,  heirs  and  devisees  of  Ellen  A.  Kilbourn,  deceased;  Florence  Ann 
D.  Reed,  Joseph  S.  Reed,  Florence  A.  D.  Reed,  Joseph  S.  Reid,  EfRe  R.  Fake, 
Fred  L.  Fake,  Mrs.  Fred  L.  Fake,  Winnifred  S.  Reed,  Mary  Florence  Reed,  Clark 
Scammon  Reed,  heirs  and  devisees  of  John  Y.  Scammon  and  Arianna  E.  Scam- 
mon,  deceased;  Samuel  R.  Buchanan,  Elizabeth  R.  Dupee,  William  H.  R.  Buch- 
anan, Catherine  R.  Spencer,  James  O.  R.  Buchanan,  Mabel  R.  Buchanan,  Robert 
R.  Buchanan,  heirs  and  devisees  of  John  S.  Buchanan,  deceased;  Cynthia  Fuller, 
devisee  of  Thomas  Brock  Fuller,  deceased;  Almira  H.  Gardner,  Mary  G.  Brain- 
erd,  Harry  J.  Brainerd,  Jessie  S.  Gardner,  William  H.  Gardner,  George  A.  Gard- 
ner, heirs  of  Samuel  S.  Gardner,  deceased;  Mary  G.  Gardner,  Helen  M.  Sloat, 
George  W.  Sloat,  Allie  M.  Rogers,  Ernest  J.  Rogers,  Jennie  L.  Gardner,  Flora  M. 
Gardner,  heirs  and  devisees  of  Daniel  B.  Gardner,  deceased;  Lena  Liebenstein, 
Matilda  Spiegel,  Joseph  Spiegel,  Albert  Liebenstein,  Jennie  Freudenthal,  Joseph 
Freudenthal,  Ella  Fox,  Leo  Fox,  Julia  Liebenstein,  heirs  and  devisees  of  Joseph 
Liebenstein,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  S.  Newton  Dexter,  de- 
ceased; unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Stephen  Bronson,  Jr.,  deceased;  unknown 
heirs  and  devisees  of  Belden  F.  Culver,  deceased;  Maria  L.  Meeker,  Margaret 
Meeker  Cook,  David  S.  Cook,  Jr.,  Louise  Meeker  Walker,  James  R.  Walker, 
Arthur  Meeker,  heirs  and  devisees  of  Arthur  B.  Meeker,  deceased;  Sarah  E. 
Wells,  Lydia  N.  Wells,  William  H.  Wells,  Jr.,  Frances  B.  Wells,  George  G.  Wells, 
heirs  and  devisees  of  William  Harvey  Wells,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  de- 
visees of  Mary  A.  Clark,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  John  F.  Sea- 
man, deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Augustus  M.  Herrington,  de- 
ceased; unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Abby  Ford,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and 
devisees  of  S.  G.  Pope,  individually  and  as  trustee,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and 
devisees  of  Amanda  Acker,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  William  P. 
Kilbourn,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Martha  P.  Wells,  deceased; 
Guaranty  Trust  Company  of  New  York,  a  corporation  organized  and  existing^ 
under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York,  trustee,  and  United  States  Trust  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  a  corporation  organized  and  existing  under  the  laws  of  the- 
State  of  New  York,  trustee;  the  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Mabel  A.  Buch- 
anan, deceased;  the  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  John  R.  Buchanan,  de- 
ceased, and  Margaret  Chapman. 

They  and  each  of  them  are  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  said  Act 
hereinbefore  named,  hereby  made  parties  defendant  to  this  petition. 

Your  petitioner  further  represents  that  there  are  other  persons  whose  names 
are  unknown  to  your  petitioner,  who  claim  some  interest  in  said  premises  or 
some  part  thereof,  and  whom  your  petitioner  makes  defendants  hereto  by  the 
name  and  designation  of  The  Unknown  Owners. 

May  it  please  your  Honors  to  grant  process  of  summons  in  this  suit  in  the 
same  manner  as  in  suits  in  chancery,  directed  to  the  sheriff  of  said  County  of 
Cook,  commanding  him  that  he  summon  the  defendants,  The  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company,  a  corporation;  Lewis  W.  Kilbourn,  Orpha  J.  Kilbourn,  James 
S.  Kilbourn,  heirs  and  devisees  of  Ellen  A.  Kilbourn,  deceased;  Florence  Ann  D. 
Reed,  Joseph  S.  Reed,  Florence  A.  D.  Reid,  Joseph  S.  Reid,  Effie  R.  Fake,  Fred  L. 
Fake,  Mrs.  Fred  L.  Fake,  Winnifred  S.  Reed,  Mary  Florence  Reed,  Clark  Scam- 
mon Reed,  heirs  and  devisees  of  John  Y.  Scammon  and  Arianna  E.  Scammon, 
deceased;  Samuel  R.  Buchanan,  Elizabeth  R.  Dupee,  William  H.  R.  Buchanan, 
Catherine  R.  Spencer,  James  O.  R.  Buchanan,  Mabel  R.  Buchanan,  Robert  R. 
Buchanan,  heirs  and  devisees  of  John  S.  Buchanan,  deceased;  Cynthia  Fuller, 
devisee  of  Thomas  Brock  Fuller,  deceased;  Almira  H.  Gardner,  Mary  G.  Brain- 
erd, Harry  J.  Brainerd,  Jessie  S.  Gardner,  William  H.  Gardner,  George  A.  Gard- 
ner, heirs  of  Samuel  S.  Gardner,  deceased;  Mary  G.  Gardner,  Helen  M.  Sloat, 
George  W.  Sloat,  Allie  M.  Rogers,  Ernest  J.  Rogers,  Jennie  L.  Gardner,  Flora  M. 
Gardner,  heirs  and  devisees  of  Daniel  G.  Gardner,  deceased;   Lena  Liebenstein, 


345 

Matilda  Spiegel,  Joseph  Spiegel,  Albert  Liebenstin,  Jennie  Freudenthal,  Joseph 
Freudenthal,  Ella  Fox,  Leo  Fox,  Julia  Liebenstein,  heirs  and  devisees  of  Joseph 
Liebenstein,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  S.  Newton  Dexter,  de- 
ceased, unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Stephen  Bronson,  Jr.,  deceased;  unknown 
heirs  and  devisees  of  Belden  F.  Culver,  deceased;  Maria  L.  Meeker,  Margaret 
Meeker  Cook,  David  S.  Cook,  Jr.,  Louise  Meeker  Walker,  James  R.  Walker, 
Arthur  Meeker,  heirs  and  devisees  of  Arthur  B.  Meeker,  deceased;  Sarah  B. 
Wells,  Lydia  N.  Wells,  William  H.  Wells,  Jr.,  Frances  B.  Wells,  George  G.  Wells, 
heirs  and  devisees  of  William  Harvey  Wells,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  de- 
visees of  Mary  A.  Clark,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  John  F.  Sea- 
man, deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Augustus  M.  Herrington,  de- 
ceased; unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Abby  Ford,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and 
devisees  of  S.  G.  Pope,  individually  and  as  trustee,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and 
devisees  of  Amanda  Acker,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  William 
P.  Kilbourn,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Martha  P.  Wells,  de- 
ceased; Guaranty  Trust  Company  of  New  York,  a  corporation  organized  and 
existing  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York,  trustee,  and  United  States 
Trust  Company  of  New  York,  a  corporation  organized  and  existing  under  the 
laws  of  the  State  of  New  York,  trustee;  the  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Mabel 
A.  Buchanan,  deceased;  the  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  John  R.  Buchanan, 
deceased;  Margaret  Chapman  and  the  "Unknown  Owners;"  to  appear  before  this 
said  court  on  the  first  day  of  the  next  May  term  thereof,  to  be  held  at  the  court 
house  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  in  the  County  of  Cook  aforesaid,  on  the  third 
Monday  of  May,  A.  D.  1912,  being  the  twentieth  day  of  said  month,  and  then 
and  there  to  answer  this  petition,  etc.,  and  that  process  of  publication  be  made 
as  provided  by  law  as  to  said  defendants  residing  without  the  State  of  Illinois, 
and  said  defendants  whose  residences  are  unknown,  and  also  as  to  said  defend- 
ants who  are  made  parties  to  this  proceeding  as  the  unknown  owners. 

South  Pabk  Commissioners, 

By  Robert  Redfield, 

Its  Attorney. 


2.  AGREEMENT  OP  MARCH  30,  1912,  BETWEEN  THE  SOUTH  PARK  COM- 
MISSIONERS AND  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  COMPANY. 

THIS  agreement,  MADE  THIS  THIRTIETH  DAY  OF  MARCH,  A.  D.  1912,  BETWEEN  THE 
SOUTH  PABK  COMMISSIONERS,  A  MUNICIPAL  CORPORATION,  CREATED  BY  THE  LAWS 
OF  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  HEREINAFTER  CALLED  THE  COMMISSIONERS,  PARTY  OF 
THE  FIRST  PART,  AND  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  COMPANY,  A  CORPORATION 
OF  SAID  STATE,  HEREINAFTER  CALLED  THE  COMPANY,  PARTY  OF  THE  SECOND  PAET, 
WITNESSETH: 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  now  have  control  over  the  public  parks  in  the 
City  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  known  as  Grant  Park  and  Jackson  Park,  both  of  which 
border  upon  public  waters  in  this  State,  to-wit,  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan, 
and  are  now  separate;  and. 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  under  the  authority  vested  in  them  by  the  laws 
of  said  State,  wish  to  extend  Jackson  Park  over  and  upon  the  bed  of  said  public 
waters  adjoining  thereto,  and  to  connect  Jackson  and  Grant  Parks  by  a  boule- 
vard, driveway  or  parkway  extending  over  and  upon  the  bed  of  the  said  public 
waters,  and  over  and  upon  any  lands  penetrating  into  said  waters,  consistently, 
however,  with  the  practical  navigation  of  said  public  waters,  for  the  purposes 
of  commerce;  and. 

Whereas,  the  Company  is  the  owner  of  certain  lands,  piers,  docks  and 
rights  thereto  pertaining,  adjoining  or  near  to  the  southerly  end  of  said  Grant 
Park  and  penetrating  into  the  said  waters  east  of  the  boundary  line  herein 
established,  which  said  Commissioners  desire  to  acquire  for  the  purposes  here- 
inafter stated;  and. 


346 

Whereas,  said  Company  claims  to  own  the  greater  part  of  the  lands  and 
the  riparian  and  other  rights  pertaining  to  such  lands  on  the  shores  adjoining 
said  public  waters  between  the  south  line  of  Lake  Park  Place  (formerly  known 
as  Park  Row),  extended  eastwardly,  and  a  point  in  the  east  line  of  Section  Elev- 
en (11),  Township  Thirty-eight  (38)  north,  Range  Fourteen  (14)  east  of  the 
third  principal  meridian,  in  the  said  city,  hereinafter  fixed  as  the  southerly  end 
of  the  said  boundary  line  to  be  established,  except  the  lands  and  riparian  and 
other  rights  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  except  as  hereinafter  provided,  and  is 
also  the  owner  of  certain  lands  penetrating  into  said  public  waters  beyond  the 
said  boundary  line,  upon  and  over  which  it  is  proposed  to  construct  such  ex- 
tension and  connection,  and  the  construction  of  such  extension  and  connec- 
tion will  interfere  with  or  destroy  the  enjoyment  by  said  Company  of  its 
said  riparian  rights  and  necessitate  the  appropriation  by  said  Commission- 
ers of  that  part  of  the  said  lands  of  the  Company  penetrating  into 
the  said  public  waters  beyond  said  boundary  line;  and  the  acquisition  by  the 
Commissioners  of  said  riparian  rights  and  such  part  of  the  said  penetrating 
lands  of  the  Company  is  necessary  to  the  construction  of  the  proposed  boulevard, 
driveway,  or  parkway;   and, 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  and  the  Company  desire  to  agree,  in  form  and 
manner  provided  by  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  upon  a  permanent  boundary 
line  dividing  between  the  said  Commissioners  and  the  Company  the  submerged 
and  other  lands  which  extend  from  the  east  line  of  the  said  right  of  way  of  said 
Company  into  and  under  the  said  public  waters  between  the  termini  of  the  said 
boundary  line  as  hereinafter  described,  and  to  fix  and  define  the  part  of  such 
submerged  and  other  lands  which  shall  be  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  Com- 
pany, in  lieu  of,  and  as  compensation  for,  the  release  to  the  Commissioners  of 
its  said  riparian  rights  and  its  interest  in  the  part  of  said  lands  penetrating  into 
the  said  public  waters  beyond  the  said  boundary  line,  and  to  confirm  in  the  said 
Commissioners  title,  jurisdiction  and  control,  for  park  purposes  as  provided  by 
law,  over  the  said  riparian  rights  of  the  Company  and  the  part  of  said  lands 
penetrating  beyond  the  said  boundary  line;  and, 

Whereas,  the  said  Company  claims  to  be  the  owner,  as  aforesaid,  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  said  shore  lands,  the  riparian  rights  pertaining  thereto,  and 
of  the  said  penetrating  lands  between  the  termini  of  the  said  proposed  boundary 
line,  except  as  aforesaid,  and  except  as  hereinafter  provided,  and  the  Commis- 
sioners wish  to  have  established,  without  delay,  the  said  boundary  line  opposite 
the  said  shore  lands  owned  by  the  Company,  to  thereby  secure  the  early  use,  for 
park  purposes,  of  certain  of  the  said  penetrating  and  other  lands  on  the  easterly 
side  of  such  boundary  line,  to  the  end  that  there  may  be  confirmed  in  said 
Commissioners  the  complete  title,  jurisdiction  and  control,  for  park  purposes,  as 
provided  by  law,  over  all  of  said  riparian  rights  and  lands  penetrating  beyond 
the  said  boundary  line  between  the  said  termini,  and  that  there  may  be  con- 
firmed in  the  Company  the  right  and  title  to  the  submerged  and  other  lands 
between  the  said  easterly  line  of  its  present  right  of  way  and  the  said  boundary 
line,  as  hereinafter  provided,  excepting,  however,  the  part  of  said  line  which 
extends  through,  near  or  along  the  land  now  occupied  and  used  by  the  City  of 
Chicago  for  its  Thirty-ninth  Street  Pumping  Station  and  held  by  it  under  a 
deed  from  the  Company  dated  August  17,  1898,  which  land  is  not  intended  to  be 
included  herein;   and. 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  and  the  Company  entered  into  a  contract 
dated  December  11,  A.  D.  1911,  for  the  establishment  of  a  boundary  line  and 
other  matters;  and, 

Whereas,  since  the  making  of  said  contract  the  parties  thereto  have  agreed 
upon  a  new  boundary  line  and  other  provisions,  in  lieu  of  the  said  boundary  line 
and  provisions  of  the  said  contract; 

Now,  Therefore,  in  consideration  of  the  premises  and  of  the  benefit  to  re- 
sult to  each  of  the  parties  herefrom,  and  the  mutual  covenants  and  agreements 
of  the  parties  herein  contained,  but  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Circuit  Court 
of  Cook  County,  Illinois,  as  hereinafter  provided,  it  is  covenanted  and  agreed 
between  the  Commissioners  and  the  Company,  as  follows: 


347 

Abticle  I. 

The  said  contract,  dated  the  11th  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1911,  shall  be  and 
it  is  hereby  canceled  and  annulled. 

Article  II. 

The  permanent  boundary  line  dividing  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and 
rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  Commissioners,  and  the  sub- 
merged and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the 
Company  (in  lieu  of,  and  as  compensation  for,  the  release  of  said  riparian  rights 
and  said  part  of  said  penetrating  lands  to  the  Commissioners,  as  hereinafter 
provided),  here  contemplated  and  intended  to  be  established,  as  the  rights  and 
interests  essential  thereto  may  be  acquired  as  hereinafter  provided,  is  the  line 
described  as  follows,  namely: 

Commencing  at  a  point  in  the  south  line  of  said  Lake  Park  Place  produced 
east,  that  is,  seven  hundred  and  sixty-one  (761)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of 
Michigan  Avenue,  and  extending  thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  to  inter- 
sect with  the  proposed  south  line  of  Twelfth  Street  Boulevard  extended  east 
at  a  point  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven  (877)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of 
Michigan  Avenue;  thence  east  eighty  (80)  feet;  thence  southeasterly  in  a 
straight  line  to  intersect  with  the  south  line  of  Twenty-fifth  Street  extended 
east,  at  a  point  six  hundred  and  sixty  (660)  feet  easterly  from,  measured  at 
right  angles  to,  the  westerly  line  of  the  company's  waylands  as  now  established; 
thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  parallel  to  and  six  hundred  and  sixty 
(660)  feet  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of 
Twenty-ninth  Street  extended  east;  thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  tp 
intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  Street  extended  east,  at  a  point 
three  hundred  (300)  feet  easterly  from,  measured  at  right  angles  to,  said  wester- 
ly waylands  line;  thence  southeasterly  parallel  to  and  three  hundred  (300)  feet 
easterly  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of 
Thirty-ninth  Street  extended  east;  thence  west  along  said  north  line  fifty  (50) 
feet;  thence  southeasterly  parallel  to  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  (250)  feet  east- 
erly from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  center  line  of  Forty- 
first  Street  extended  east;  thence  continuing  southeasterly  on  a  line  parallel  to 
and  three  hundred  (300)  feet  easterly  from  the  company's  westerly  waylands 
line  as  now  established  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Forty-ninth  Street, 
extended  east,  which  said  line,  with  its  courses  and  distances,  is  shown  in  red 
on  the  plat  hereto  attached  and  made  part  hereof;  and  in  so  far  as  the  said  line 
is  located  along  and  opposite  lands  on  the  shore  adjoining  the  said  public  waters, 
which,  together  with  the  riparian  rights  pertaining  thereto,  are  now  owned  by 
the  Company,  it,  the  said  line,  is  hereby,  established,  acknowledged  and  con- 
firmed, subject  to  the  approval  of  the  said  Circuit  Court,  as  the  said  permanent 
boundary  line  dividing  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired, 
taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  Commissioners,  and  the  submerged  and  other 
lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned,  and  used  by  the  said  Company. 

Article  III. 

Should  it  appear  at  any  time  that  there  are  any  adverse  interests  (except 
the  interests  of  the  City  of  Chicago  pertaining  to  its  pumping  station  situated 
at  Thirty-ninth  Street  above  referred  to),  such  adverse  interests  shall  be  ac- 
quired by  the  Company,  and  from  time  to  time  as  such  adverse  interests,  if  any, 
are  obtained,  the  Commissioners  shall  take  such  steps  as  are  contemplated  by 
the  Act  under  which  such  proposed  boundary  line  is  to  be  obtained,  to  secure 
the  final  confirmation  and  establishment  of  the  said  dividing  and  boundary  line, 
through  each,  and  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  derived  from  such 
adverse  interests,  if  any,  shall  be  divided  between  the  parties  hereto  in  the 
same  manner  and  by  the  same  permanent  boundary  line  hereinbefore  described 
as  in  case  of  the  lands  and  rights  now  owned  by  the  Company. 

And  the  Commissioners  shall  pay  to  said  Company  on  demand  from  time  to 
time  one-half  ( % )  the  price  or  cost  and  expense  of  the  acquirement  of  any  such 
adverse  interests,  provided  the  amount  of  the  price,  cost  or  expense  for  one-half 


348 

(1/1.)  of  which  demand  is  made  at  any  time,  has  been  approved  by  the  Commis- 
sio'ners  before  the  obligation  therefor  was  incurred.  If  the  Commissioners  have 
not  approved,  or  do  not  approve  the  price,  cost  or  expense,  then  the  amount 
which  the  Commissioners  shall  pay  shall  be  determined  by  the  finding  of  a 
majority  of  three  arbitrators,  one  to  be  chosen  by  each  of  the  parties  hereto, 
and  the  third  to  be  named  by  the  Judge  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  Southern  District  of  Illinois.  The  arbitrators  shall  determine 
what  would  have  been  a  reasonable  price,  cost  or  expense,  under  all  the  circum- 
stances, and  shall  require  each  of  the  parties  hereto  to  bear  not  less  than  one- 
half  of  such  reasonable  price,  cost  or  expense,  not  to  exceed  one-half  (Vo)  of 
the  actual  price,  cost  or  expense. 

The  term  "adverse  interests"  as  used  in  this  agreement  shall  be  taken  to 
include  any  lands,  riparian  rights  or  interests  not  owned  by  the  Company. 
Should  the  Company  fail  to  acquire  such  adverse  interests,  or  any  of  them, 
within  a  reasonable  time  through  inability  to  reach  an  agreement  on  the  price  or 
for  any  cause,  the  Commissioners  may  purchase  such  adverse  interests,  or  any 
of  them,  and  shall  be  reimbursed  by  the  Company  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is 
herein  provided  that  the  Company  shall  be  reimbursed  by  the  Commissioners 
in  case  of  a  purchase  by  the  Company,  the  situations  being  reversed,  and  the 
same  provisions  shall  be  applicable.  Both  parties  to  this  agreement  shall  co- 
operate with  each  other  to  the  fullest  extent  and  exercise  all  their  legal  powers 
to  perfect  the  entire  permanent  and  dividing  boundary  line  and  to  carry  out  the 
purposes  of  this  agreement. 

Article  IV. 

The  Commissioners  shall  without  delay  file  from  time  to  time  as  may  be 
necessary  a  petition  or  petitions,  or  bill  or  bills,  in  chancery,  on  the  chancery 
side  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County,  Illinois,  praying  that  the  said  bound- 
ary line  above  established  between  the  lands  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  by  the 
Commissioners,  and  the  lands  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  by  the  Company,  may 
be  established  and  confirmed  by  the  decree  of  said  court,  either  in  entirety  in 
one  decree  or  in  several  decrees  corresponding  to  the  petitions  or  bills  filed  for 
that  purpose;  and  they  shall  exercise  all  proper  diligence  and  take  all  proper 
steps  in  the  prosecution  of  such  petition  or  petitions,  or  bill  or  bills,  as  may  from 
time  to  time  be  necessary,  as  contemplated  and  required  by  an  Act  of  the  State 
of  Illinois,  approved  May  2,  1907,  entitled,  "An  Act  authorizing  park  commis- 
sioners to  acquire  and  improve  submerged  and  shore  lands  for  park  purposes, 
providing  for  the  payment  therefor,  and  granting  unto  such  commissioners 
certain  rights  and  powers  and  to  riparian  owners  certain  rights  and  titles,"  and 
generally  shall  exert  all  reasonable  efforts  to  the  end  that  said  boundary  line  as 
herein  defined  may  be  established  and  confirmed  by  the  final  judgment  or  judg- 
ments, decree  or  decrees,  of  said  court,  in  the  said  proceeding  or  proceedings. 

Akticle  V. 

Upon  the  establishment  and  confirmation  by  the  final  judgment  or  judgments 
and  decree  or  decrees  in  said  proceeding  or  proceedings  of  the  said  part  of  said 
dividing  and  boundary  line  above  described  as  the  permanent  dividing  and 
boundary  line  along  and  opposite  said  lands  on  the  shore  adjoining  the  said  part 
of  the  said  public  waters,  which,  together  with  the  riparian  rights  pertaining 
thereto,  are  now  owned  by  the  Company,  all  of  the  riparian  rights  now  held  or 
owned  by  the  Company,  as  the  owner  of  said  lands,  and  also  all  the  right,  title 
and  interest  of  the  Company  in  and  to  the  part  of  the  submerged,  reclaimed, 
made  and  penetrating  lands,  and  in  and  to  the  part  of  any  piers,  basins  or  pro- 
jections situate,  lying  or  being  on  or  penetrating  or  projecting  into  said  public 
waters  beyond  and  on  the  easterly  side  of  such  part  of  said  boundary  line,  shall 
vest  in,  be  taken  by,  held  and  acquired  by  the  said  Commissioners,  and,  in  that 
event,  the  same  are  hereby  vested  in,  transferred,  assigned  and  conveyed  to  the 
said  Commissioners,  for  the  purposes  aforesaid;  and  upon  such  establishment 
and  confirmation  as  aforesaid  of  the  said  part  of  said  dividing  and  boundary 
line  as  the  permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line  along  and  opposite  the  said 
lands  of  the  Company,  the  part  of  the  said  submerged,  reclaimed,  made  and 


349 

penetrating  lands,  and  the  waters  thereon,  situate  and  being  on  the  westerly- 
side  of  said  part  of  said  boundary  line,  and  all  the  right,  title  and  interest  in  or 
pertaining  thereto  shall  be  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  Company,  in  lieu  of, 
and  as  compensation  for,  the  release  to  the  Commissioners  of  its  said  above 
described  riparian  and  other  rights  and  property,  and,  in  that  event,  the  same 
are  hereby  vested  in,  transferred,  assigned  and  conveyed  to  said  Company.  The 
said  Company  shall  have  and  hold  the  fee  simple  title  to  any  and  all  such  lands 
and  interests  so  vested  in  it,  with  the  full  right  to  fill  in,  improve,  protect  and 
use  the  same  for  railroad  and  other  lawful  purposes,  and  to  sell  and  convey  the 
same  up  to  the  lines  so  established,  free  from  any  adverse  claim  in  any  way 
arising  out  of  any  question  as  to  where  the  shore  line  was  at  any  time  in  the 
past,  or  as  to  the  title  to  any  existing  accretions.  And  upon  the  establishment 
and  confirmation  as  aforesaid  of  the  said  part  of  the  said  dividing  and  boundary 
line  as  aforesaid,  the  said  Company  as  a  part  of  the  release  of  its  right,  title 
and  interest  in  said  part  of  such  basins,  piers,  or  projections,  and  all  other 
property  lying  east  of  such  boundary  line  shall  consent,  and  in  the  event  of  the 
establishment  and  confirmation  as  aforesaid  of  the  said  part  of  said  dividing 
and  boundary  line  as  aforesaid,  this  instrument  shall  be  effective  as  the  consent 
of  the  Company,  that  the  basin  now  located  east  of  Twelfth  Street  extended 
may  be  closed  and  filled  and  the  lands  under  the  same  reclaimed  by  said  Com- 
missioners, and  the  said  Company  will  by  quitclaim  deed  convey  to  the  Com- 
missioners the  following  described  property,  to-wit: 

A  parcel  of  ground  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  in  Cook  County,  State 
of  Illinois,  described  as  follows: 

Beginning  at  a  point  in  the  south  line  of  Lake  Park  Place  (formerly  known 
as  Park  Row)  in  the  City  of  Chicago  produced  easterly,  seven  hundred  and  sixty- 
one  (761)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of  Michigan  Avenue,  extending  thence  south- 
easterly, making  an  angle  of  forty -five  (45)  degrees  with  a  line  parallel  to  the 
west  line  of  Michigan  Avenue  seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight  (778)  feet,  more 
or  less,  to  a  point  in  the  north  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company's 
Thirteenth  Street  pier,  thirteen  hundred  and  twenty  (1320)  feet  east  of  the  west 
line  of  Michigan  Avenue;  thence  east  along  said  north  line  five  hundred  and 
thirty  (530)  feet,  more  or  less,  to  east  line  of  said  pier;  thence  south  ulong  said 
east  line  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  (288)  feet,  more  or  less,  to  the  south 
line  of  said  pier;  thence  west  along  said  south  line  to  an  intersection  with  the 
said  permanent  boundary  line  above  described  in  Article  Two,  paragraph  two, 
hereof,  thence  northwesterly  along  said  permanent  boundary  line  to  the  place 
of  beginning.  The  Company  further  undertakes  to  secure  at  the  time  said  quit- 
claim deed  is  delivered,  the  release  of  its  Refunding  Mortgage,  being  the  in- 
denture dated  November  1,  1908,  by  and  between  the  Company  and  the  Guaranty 
Trust  Company  of  New  York,  so  far  as  the  said  mortgage  or  indenture  relates 
to  or  covers  the  property  last  above  described,  so  to  be  conveyed  by  quitclaim 
deed,  it  being  intended  to  be  conveyed  to  said  Commissioners  as  and  for  a  site 
for  a  museum,  to  be  erected  either  by  said  Commissioners  or  by  the  directors  or 
trustees  of  such  museum  as  may  be  authorized  by  said  Commissioners,  and  as 
to  said  lands  above  described  any  conveyance  to  the  Commissioners  shall  con- 
tain a  dedication  of  said  land  to  public  use  for  museum  purposes  or  to  such 
other  park  purposes  as  said  Commissioners  may  determine,  and  said  Company 
specifically  declares  that  it  is  not  its  intention  that  said  land  shall  become  at- 
tached to  or  become  a  part  of  Grant  Park  unless  and  until  the  said  Commis- 
sioners shall,  by  ordinance  or  resolution,  give  evidence  of  their  intention  to 
attach  said  land  to  said  park. 

It  is  covenanted  and  agreed  that  upon  the  establishment  and  confirmation 
of  any  part  of  the  said  boundary  line  by  the  said  court,  the  part  of  said  line  so 
established  and  confirmed  shall  thereafter  be  the  permanent  dividing  and  bound- 
ary line  to  the  extent  so  established  and  confirmed,  and  shall  not  be  affected 
or  changed  thereafter  either  by  accretions  or  erosions;  and  upon  the  final  es- 
tablishment of  said  boundary  line  through  its  entire  length,  as  contemplated  by 
this  agreement,  it  shall  thereafter  be  the  permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line 
of  the  said  lands  so  to  be  taken  by  the  respective  parties  as  aforesaid  between 
the  termini  of  the  said  line. 


350 

Abticle  VI. 

The  Company  covenants  and  agrees  that  upon  the  final  establishment  and 
confirmation  of  the  said  boundary  line  along,  opposite  and  through  the  lands 
on  the  shore  adjoining  the  said  part  of  the  said  public  waters,  which,  with  the 
riparian  rights  pertaining  thereto,  are  now  owned  by  the  Company,  and  the 
vesting  in  the  Company  of  the  title,  as  provided  by  the  statute  aforesaid,  to 
the  submerged  lands  along  such  part  of  the  said  boundary  line,  with  the  right 
to  fill  in  and  use  the  same  for  railroad  purposes;  and  upon  the  operation  by 
electricity  of  its  tracks  and  terminals  north  of  Twelfth  Street  in  the  said  City 
of  Chicago,  the  Commissioners,  subject  to  the  conditions  and  restrictions  herein 
provided,  may  construct  and  maintain  viaducts  or  bridges  over  the  land,  rights 
of  way  and  tracks  of  the  Company  on  a  line  produced  eastward  on  all  of  the 
east  and  west  streets  abutting  upon  or  crossing  "Michigan  Avenue  between  and 
inclusive  of  Randolph  Street  and  Harmon  Place  in  said  city;  said  viaducts  or 
bridges  may  be  of  the  full  width  of  the  respective  streets  on  the  line  of  which 
they  are  constructed.  The  superstructure  of  each  such  viaduct  or  bridge  shall 
be  of  metal  or  reinforced  concrete,  and  the  lowest  point  of  any  such  super- 
structure shall  be  not  less  than  eighteen  (18)  feet  in  the  clear  above  the  level 
of  the  top  of  the  railroad  tracks  as  now  existing  at  the  east  and  west  lines  of 
the  Company's  right  of  way  at  such  place  or  places,  and  the  clearance  or  clear- 
ances of  such  bridges  or  viaducts  shall  in  all  other  respects  conform  to  the 
clearances  of  the  bridges  now  existing.  All  the  supports  or  piers  of  such  via- 
ducts or  bridges  shall  be  forty  (40)  feet  apart  between  centers,  requiring  four 
(4)  piers  or  supports  in  the  two  hundred  (200)  feet  width  of  the  right  of  way 
of  the  Company,  and  shall  be  set  at  uniform  distances  from  the  west  side  of  the 
Company's  right  of  way  and  parallel  with  the  Company's  tracks. 

And  the  Commissioners  may  also,  at  such  time,  construct  and  maintain  a 
covering  not  to  exceed  fifty  (50)  feet  in  width  above  and  over  the  Company's 
right  of  way  adjoining  and  along  the  west  side  thereof  between  Twelfth  and 
Randolph  Streets,  and  a  covering  not  to  exceed  fifty  (50)  feet  in  width  adjoin- 
ing and  along  the  east  side  of  said  right  of  way  between  Twelfth  and  Monroe 
Streets.  There  shall  be  a  single  line  of  piers  or  supports  for  such  covering  or 
coverings  which  shall  be  set  at  the  uniform  distance  of  forty  (40)  feet  from  the 
side  of  the  Company's  right  of  way  along  which  such  covering  may  extend  or 
be  attached,  and  such  piers  or  supports  shall  be  set  between  tracks  so  as  to 
conform  with  the  location  of  the  piers  or  supports  of  the  bridges  or  viaducts 
by  this  paragraph  authorized.  The  extension  of  the  said  covering  beyond  said 
line  of  piers  shall  be  by  cantilever  or  other  similar  device.  The  said  coverings 
here  intended  shall  have  a  clearance  above  the  existing  tracks  of  the  Company 
to  conform  and  correspond  with  that  provided  for  the  bridges  or  viaducts  as 
hereinabove  specified,  and  which  at  no  point  shall  be  less  than  eighteen  (18) 
feet.  The  piers  or  supports  above  authorized  for  the  said  bridges  or  viaducts 
and  covering  shall  not  exceed  the  piers  under  the  existing  bridges  in  Grant  Park 
in  size  or  space  occupied.  The  surface  of  the  said  covering  may  be  used  for 
such  purposes  as  the  Commissioners  may  desire,  provided  such  use  does  not 
interfere  with  the  use  or  operation  of  the  Company's  tracks  and  right  of  way. 

It  is  rxDERSTOoi)  and  agreed  that  none  of  the  foregoing  provisions  in  this 
article  contained  shall  be  in  force  until  the  said  tracks  and  terminals  shall  be 
operated  by  electricity,  as  above  stated,  except,  however,  that  immediately  upon 
the  confirmation  of  the  said  boundary  line  along  the  shore  lands  now  owned  by 
the  Company,  and  the  vesting  in  the  Company  of  the  title  to  said  submerged 
lands  at  such  place  or  places  as  aforesaid,  the  Commissioners  may  construct  and 
maintain  a  bridge  or  viaduct  at  each  of  the  streets  between  .lackson  Street  and 
Hubbard  Place,  inclusive,  of  a  width,  if  constructed  at  all  of  the  said  streets, 
not  to  exceed  the  width  of  the  respective  streets  extended  eastwardly;  or,  in 
lieu  of  the  bridges  or  viaducts  authorized  at  the  said  several  streets  between 
said  Jackson  Street  and  Hubbard  Place,  inclusive,  the  Commissioners  may,  at 
their  election,  construct  and  maintain  a  bridge  or  viaduct  at  each  of  any  three 
or  four  of  said  last  mentioned  streets  as  they  may  elect,  the  total  width  of  such 
streets,  if  so  consolidated,  not  to  exceed  three  hundred  and  thirty  (330)  feet, 
and  no  single  bridge  to  be  over  one  hundred  and  ten  (110)   feet  in  width.     Said 


351 

bridges  shall  be  of  the  construction,  clearance  above  the  tracks  of  the  Company, 
and  with  supports  corresponding  in  size  and  location  to  the  construction,  clear- 
ance and  supports  as  above  provided  for  the  viaducts  and  bridges  to  be  con- 
structed over  the  said  Company's  right  of  way  in  said  Grant  Park. 

Provided,  however,  and  the  right  and  authority  in  this  article  given  the 
Commissioners  is  subject  to  the  express  condition,  restriction  and  reservation, 
that  no  structure,  covering,  viaduct  or  bridge  shall  be  constructed  or  maintained, 
or  any  such  use  made  thereof  by  the  Commissioners  that  will  interfere  with  or 
prevent  the  Company's  free  use  and  operation  of  its  said  tracks  for  railroad  pur- 
poses, excepting  that  the  supports  or  piers  mentioned  may  be  located  as  above 
stated. 

Article  VII. 

Upon  the  establishment  and  confirmation  by  the  final  judgment  or  judgments 
and  decree  or  decrees  in  said  proceeding  or  proceedings  of  the  said  part  of  the 
said  dividing  and  boundary  line  above  described  as  the  permanent  dividing  and 
boundary  line  along  and  opposite  said  lands  on  the  shore  adjoining  the  said  part 
of  the  said  public  waters,  which,  together  with  the  riparian  rights  pertaining 
thereto,  are  now  owned  by  the  Company,  except  through  the  said  lands  of  the 
City  of  Chicago,  and  the  vesting  in  the  Company  of  the  lands,  rights  and  inter- 
ests which  it  is  above  agreed  shall  be  vested  in  it  between  the  said  easterly  line 
of  its  present  right  of  way  and  the  said  part  of  the  said  dividing  and  boundary 
line — the  following  covenants  and  agreements  in  this  article  contained  shall  be 
in  force,  and  the  rights  mentioned  confirmed  and  established: 

(1)  The  Commissioners  shall  have,  and  are  hereby  given  the  right,  sub- 
ject to  the  conditions  and  requirements  herein  contained  and  to  the  restrictions 
in  this  section,  to  construct  and  maintain  viaducts  over  the  tracks,  lands  and 
right  of  way  of  said  Company,  acquired,  or  to  be  acquired  hereunder,  in  line 
with  the  projection  eastward  of  such  east  and  west  streets  as  said  Commission- 
ers may  select  between  Twenty-second  Street  and  Forty-first  Street  in  the  said 
City  of  Chicago:  Provided,  however,  and  it  is  agreed,  that  not  more  than  four 
of  such  viaducts  to  each  mile  longitudinally  with  the  right  of  way  of  said  Com- 
pany shall  be  constructed.  The  Commissioners  shall  also  have,  and  are  hereby 
given,  the  right  to  construct  and  maintain  viaducts  over  the  said  tracks,  lands 
and  right  of  way  of  the  Company  in  line  with  the  projection  eastward  of  Forty- 
first  Street,  Forty-third  Street  and  Forty-seventh  Street,  in  said  city.  The  Com- 
missioners shall  not  construct  any  other  viaducts  over  the  tracks,  lands  and 
right  of  way  of  said  Company  between  Twelfth  Street  and  Fifty-first  Street,  in 
said  city,  than  those  authorized  in  this  and  the  next  paragraph,  except  with  the 
consent  of  the  Company.  The  superstructure  of  each  of  the  viaducts  herein 
authorized  shall  be  of  metal  or  reinforced  concrete,  and  the  lowest  point  of  any 
such  superstructure  shall  be  not  less  than  nineteen  (19)  feet  in  the  clear  above 
the  level  of  the  top  of  the  railroad  tracks  as  now  existing  or  hereafter  to  be 
constructed.  All  of  the  supports  or  piers  for  such  viaducts  shall  be  not  less 
than  forty  (40)  feet  apart  between  centers,  and  shall  be  set  at  uniform  dis- 
tances from  the  west  side  of  the  Company's  right  of  way  and  parallel  with  the 
Company's  tracks,  and  shall  be  so  arranged  as  to  provide  a  clear  space  sufficient 
for  not  less  than  three  tracks  at  any  span  excepting,  however,  that  at  any  place 
or  places  where  the  practical  construction  and  operation  of  the  Company's  tracks 
requires  a  greater  width  or  distance  between  the  piers  of  any  such  viaduct  or 
viaducts,  such  greater  width  or  distance  shall  be  provided  by  the  Commissioners, 
not  in  any  case,  however,  to  exceed  one  hundred  (100)  feet.  The  piers  or  sup- 
ports for  such  viaduct  or  viaducts  shall  not  exceed  in  size  or  space  occupied 
those  authorized  for  the  bridges  to  be  constructed  under  Article  VI  hereof.  The 
Commissioners  agree  that  the  viaducts  herein  authorized  shall  be  so  constructed 
as  not  to  interfere  with  or  prevent  the  construction  or  use  of  two  double  track 
elevated  connecting  tracks,  one  set  extending  from  a  connection  with  what  is 
known  as  the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  at  or  near  Sixteenth  Street  over  the  main 
tracks  and  side  tracks  of  said  Company  as  they  now  exist  or  as  they  may  be 
hereafter  reconstructed  in  connection  with  the  reconstructed  station  south  of 
iwelfth  Street,  with  a  southeasterly  curve  to  its  tracks  and  yards  constructed 


352 

or  to  be  constructed;  and  one  set  extending  from  a  connection  with  what  is 
known  as  the  Chicago  Junction  Railway  on  or  near  Forty-first  Street  over  the 
existing  main  tracks  of  said  Company,  with  a  southeasterly  curve  to  its  tracks 
and  yards  constructed  or  to  be  constructed.  The  viaducts  constructed  over  any 
part  of  said  elevated  connecting  tracks  shall  have  a  clearance  over  said  elevated 
tracks  of  not  less  than  nineteen  (19)  feet. 

(2)  That,  in  addition  to  the  said  viaducts  provided  to  be  constructed  in 
the  last  preceding  paragraph,  the  Commissioners  shall  have,  and  are  hereby 
given  the  right,  subject  to  the  conditions  and  requirements  hereinbefore  con- 
tained, and  to  the  restrictions  in  this  section,  to  construct  and  thereafter  main- 
tain a'boulevard  across  the  right  of  way,  lands  and  tracks  of  the  Company  by  a 
viaduct  to  be  constructed  over  such  tmcks,  right  of  way  and  lands  in  line  with 
the  projection  northward  of  South  Park  Avenue  or  eastward  of  Twenty-second 
Street  in  said  City  of  Chicago.  The  superstructure  of  such  viaduct  shall  be  of 
metal,  and  the  lowest  point  thereof  shall  be  not  less  than  nineteen  (19)  feet  in 
the  clear  above  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  present  railroad  tracks;  except,  how- 
ever, and  it  is  expressly  agreed,  that  such  viaduct  shall  be  so  elevated  as  to 
cross  with  a  clearance  of  not  less  than  nineteen  (19)  feet  the  double  track 
connection  herein  proposed  to  be  constructed  from  said  St.  Charles  Air  Line 
tracks  near  Sixteenth  Street.  The  piers  or  supports  for  such  viaduct  shall  be 
so  arranged  as  to  provide  a  clear  space  sufficient  for  not  less  than  three  (3) 
tracks  at  any  span,  and  shall  be  constructed  parallel  to  the  railroad  tracks,  ex- 
cept where  otherwise  specially  agreed  by  the  parties  hereto,  and  in  size  and 
location  shall  conform,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  the  requirements  for  the  other 
viaducts  by  this  contract  authorized. 

(3)  The  said  Company  shall  cause  that  section  of  its  roadbed  lying  be- 
tween the  following  described  east  and  west  lines,  namely,  the  south  line  of 
Thirty-first  street  extended  east  and  the  north  line  of  Forty-fifth  Street  ex- 
tended east,  to  be  depressed  in  such  manner  that  the  base  of  the  rails  of  the 
west  and  east  tracks  laid  thereon  shall  not  exceed  in  elevation  ten  (10)  feet 
above  Chicago  city  datum;  and  the  space  between  those  two  tracks  shall  be 
crowned  sufficiently  to  afford  proper  drainage.  South  of  Forty-fifth  Street  the 
roadbed  shall  be  so  depressed  and  adjusted  that  the  tracks  laid  thereon  may  be 
connected  by  suitable  gradients  with  the  tracks  laid  or  to  be  laid  at  Forty- 
seventh  Street  projected  east.  The  elevation  of  said  tracks  between  said  two 
lines  to  be  as  shown  on  the  profile  thereof  hereto  attached  and  made  part  hereof. 

(4)  That,  except  with  the  consent  of  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago, no  building  of  any  dimensions  whatever,  or  for  any  purpose  whatever, 
shall  hereafter  be  constructed  or  permitted  to  be  constructed  upon  the  right  of 
way  or  lands  of  the  Company  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  hereunder,  between  the 
south  line  of  Thirty-first  Street  projected  east  and  the  north  line  of  Fifty-first 
Street,  except  switch  shanties,  switch  towers  and  signal  towers  when  necessary 
and  where  necessary  for  the  actual  operation  of  the  railroad  of  the  Company, 
which  shanties  and  towers  shall  not  be  higher  than  reasonably  necessary  for  the 
purposes  thereof,  and  also  except  waiting  rooms,  shelters  at  suburban  depots 
and  other  buildings  and  structures  for  passenger  purposes  and  accommodation. 

Article  VIII. 

Upon  the  consent  of  the  City  Council  being  obtained  as  hereinafter  pro- 
vided, and  the  vacation  of  the  streets  and  alleys  as  later  in  this  article  pro- 
vided, and  within  five  (5)  years  from  the  date  of  this  contract  the  Commis- 
sioners shall  procure  title  to  and  hold  only  for  park  purposes  the  tract  of  land 
described  as  follows,  to-wit: 

Lots  2  to  12,  both  inclusive,  of  Johnston  and  Laflin's  subdivision  of  Lots  1, 
2,  3  and  part  of  Lot  4,  in  Block  23,  in  fractional  Section  15,  Addition  to  Chicago; 
all  being  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  County  of  Cook  and  State  of  Illinois. 

And  upon  the  acquisition  of  the  said  lands  and  the  granting  of  said  con- 
sent and  the  vacation  of  said  streets  and  alley,  the  Company  shall,  with  all  rea- 
sonable dispatch,  remove  its  Twelfth  Street  station  and  office  building  to  land 
south  of  a  line  parallel  with  and  eighty -five  (85)  feet  south  of  the  south  line  cf 


353 

Twelfth  Street  as  now  established  east  of  Michigan  Avenue  in  said  city,  and, 
subject  to  the  restrictions  and  reservations  herein  provided,  shall  dedicate  to 
the  Commissioners  only  for  park  purposes,  the  real  estate  bounded  atd  de- 
scribed as  follows,  to-wit: 

Lots  1,  13  and  14  of  Johnston  and  Laflin's  subdivision  of  Lots  1,  2,  3  and 
part  of  Lot  4,  in  Block  23,  in  fractional  Section  15,  Addition  to  Chicago. 

Also,  all  that  strip  of  land  30  feet  wide  bounded  on  the  west  by  said  lots 
and  on  the  east  by  a  line  400  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of  Michigan  Avenue  (being 
the  west  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  right  of  way),  extending  200  feet 
south  from  the  south  line  of  Park  Row  to  the  north  line  of  Twelfth  Street; 
all  being  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  County  of  Cook  and  State  of  Illinois. 

Such  dedication,  however,  to  contain  apt  conditions  and  restrictions  whereby 
no  building  or  structure  shall  be  erected  upon  either  the  said  last  described  land 
dedicated  as  aforesaid,  or  upon  that  next  previously  described  as  to  be  acquired 
by  the  Commissioners.  The  Company  shall  deliver  to  the  Commissioners  pos- 
session of  the  said  land,  to  be  dedicated  by  it  within  five  (.5)  years  after  the 
signing  of  this  instrument,  provided  that  they  shall  be  allowed  three  (3)  years 
aftci  the  acquisition  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  lands  to  be  jjrocured  by  them, 
and  the  granting  of  said  consent  by  the  City  Council  and  the  vacation  of  said 
streets  and  alley,  which  might  in  that  contingency  extend  the  period  beyond 
five  (5)  years. 

Upon  the  removal  of  the  said  station  and  office  building,  the  Company  shall 
dedicate  to  the  said  Commissioners  for  boulevard  purposes,  the  strip  of  ground 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  east  line  of  Michigan  Avenue;  on  the  north  by  the 
south  line  of  Twelfth  Street  as  now  established  east  of  Michigan  Avenue;  on 
the  east  by  the  west  line  of  Indiana  Avenue;  and  on  the  south  by  a  line  drawn 
parallel  with  and  eighty-five  (85)  feet  south  of  the  said  line  of  Twelfth  Street, 
except  the  part  of  said  strip  now  occupied  by  the  north  and  south  alley  now 
established  across  the  same,  and  as  to  the  part  of  said  alley  in  said  strip,  the 
Company  consents  to  its  use  for  such  purposes  and  the  Commissioners  may 
construct  and  perpetually  maintain  on  said  strip  of  ground  an  approach  to  the 
viaduct  hereinafter  described.  The  Company  shall  have  and  hereby  reserves 
the  free  use  of  said  boulevard  and  approach  for  itself  and  its  patrons,  and  its 
and  their  conveyances  in  going  to  and  from  its  station  as  re-located  not  incon- 
sistent with  boulevard  purposes,  it  being  understood  that  there  shall  be  pro- 
vided by  the  Company  over  said  boulevard  permanent  means  of  access  to  and 
egress  from  the  said  proposed  station  of  the  Company,  as  re-located. 

It  is  understood  and  agreed  that  the  Company  shall  have,  and  it  hereby 
reserves  the  right  to  make  and  maintain,  at  its  own  expense,  such  use  or  uses 
for  railroad  purposes,  under  the  surface  of  the  property  last  described,  and  of 
the  said  approach  constructed  and  maintained  thereon,  as  can  be  made  by  it 
without  interference  with  the  uses  above  given  to  the  said  Commissioners,  or  the 
appearance  of  the  said  boulevard  or  park. 

The  Commissioners  may  also,  upon  the  removal  of  said  station  and  office 
building,  as  above  provided,  and  under  the  conditions,  and  subject  to  the  re- 
strictions hereinbefore  and  herein  stated,  construct  and  maintain  a  viaduct  over 
the  tracks,  right  of  way  and  lands  of  said  Company  in  a  line  with  the  projec- 
tion eastward  of  said  Twelfth  Street,  with  a  width  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
(118)  feet,  the  northerly  side  of  said  viaduct  to  be  on  a  line  with  the  north 
line  of  Twelfth  Street,  as  now  maintained,  extended  eastward.  The  superstruc- 
ture of  said  viaduct  shall  be  constructed  of  metal  or  reinforced  concrete,  and 
the  lowest  point  thereof  shall  be  not  less  than  eighteen  (18)  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  present  tracks  of  said  Company,  except  that  the  clearance  of  said 
viaduct  over  the  Company's  approach  to  what  is  known  as  the  St.  Charles  Air 
Line  shall  be  not  less  than  seventeen  (17)  feet.  The  supports  or  piers  for  said 
viaducts  shall  be  set  parallel  with  the  tracks  and  so  spaced  as  to  correspond 
in  size  and  in  location  with  the  piers  or  supports  of  the  bridges  or  viaducts 
north  of  Twelfth  Street,  and  of  the  covering  hereinbefore  authorized  there,  but 
such  piers  shall  be  so  arranged  as  to  provide  a  clear  space  sufficient  for  not 
less  than  three  (3)  tracks  at  any  span. 

The  removal  of  said  station  and  the  dedication  and  conveyance  of  the  lands 
by  the  Company,  as  in  this  article  provided,  shall  not  be  required  until  the  City 


354 

Council  of  said  city  shall  consent  to  the  construction,  maintenance  and  use  by 
the  Company  of  the  said  passenger  station  and  terminals  of  the  Company  in  its 
proposed  new  location  and  to  a  change  in  the  location  of  the  existing  bridge  of 
the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  over  Indiana  Avenue  by  moving  it  a  distance  not  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred  fifty  (150)  feet  in  either  direction,  and  the  construction  of 
an  additional  connection  from  a  point  on  the  St.  Charles  Air  Line  between  Mich- 
igan Avenue  and  Indiana  Avenue  with  a  southeasterly  curve  extending  to  the 
waylands  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  by  the  Company  and  to  the  building  of  a 
bridge  over  Indiana  Avenue  and  a  bridge  over  the  alley  north  of  Sixteenth  Street 
east  of  Indiana  Avenue  for  the  southeasterly  connection  before  mentioned,  and 
to  the  use  by  the  Company  for  railroad  purposes  of  the  lands  situated  east  of 
the  present  tracks  of  said  Company  and  west  of  the  proposed  boundary  line; 
and  until  the  due  vacation  of  the  part  of  Indiana  Avenue  extending  from  the 
north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  to  the  south  line  of  Twelfth  Street  and  that 
portion  of  Indiana  Avenue  at  the  intersection  of  Thirteenth  Street  in  the  shape 
of  a  right  angled  triangle  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  east  line  of  Indiana  Ave- 
nue, on  the  north  by  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  produced  easterly  across 
Indiana  Avenue,  and  on  the  west  by  a  line  drawn  from  the  northwest  corner 
of  Indiana  Avenue  and  Thirteenth  Street  to  the  point  where  the  south  line  of 
Thirteenth  Street  produced  easterly  intersects  the  east  line  of  Indiana  Avenue; 
and  also  that  portion  of  the  alley  running  north  and  south  between  Michigan 
Avenue  and  Indiana  Avenue  extending  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  (183)  feet 
south  of  the  south  line  of  East  Twelfth  Street. 

Article  IX. 

In  the  event  that  this  contract,  in  so  far  as  it  refers  to  the  boundary  lines 
to  be  established  along  and  opposite  the  property  now  owned  by  the  Company, 
shall  not  be  confirmed  by  the  final  judgments  or  decrees  in  the  said  proceedings, 
then  the  Commissioners  shall  be  under  no  obligation  to  acquire  the  lands  north 
of  Twelfth  Street,  south  of  Park  Row,  and  west  of  the  lands  of  the  Company 
hereinbefore  described,  and  the  Company  shall  be  under  no  obligation  to  dedi- 
cate or  convey  to  the  Commissioners  its  lands  north  of  Twelfth  Street,  south  of 
Park  Row,  and  west  of  its  tracks  hereinbefore  described,  or  to  dedicate  thf 
lands  hereinbefore  described  abutting  on  Twelfth  Street,  for  boulevard  or  other 
purposes,  and  the  right  to  construct  and  maintain  a  viaduct  over  its  right  of 
way  at  Twelfth  Street  upon  a  continuation  of  the  line  of  Twelfth  Street  pro- 
duced, shall  cease  and  determine,  but  all  of  the  other  provisions  of  this  contract 
except  the  preceding  article  shall  nevertheless  remain  binding  and  of  full  effect. 

Article  X. 

The  parties  hereto  hereby  mutually  covenant  and  agree  that  to  the  extent 
of  their  lawful  powers,  they  will  do,  execute,  acknowledge  and  deliver,  or  will 
cause  to  be  done,  executed,  acknowledged  and  delivered,  all  and  every  such 
further  acts,  deeds,  transfers  and  assurances,  and  that  they  will  from  time  to 
time,  in  addition  thereto,  in  all  lawful  ways,  exercise  such  powers  as  they  may 
possess,  and  cause  to  be  done  and  performed  such  things  as  may  be  requisite 
or  necessary  for  the  better  assuring,  conveying  and  confirming  in  each  of  the 
parties  hereto,  respectively,  all  and  singular  the  premises,  estates  and  property 
included  in  this  instrument  and  intended  to  be  vested  in  the  parties  hereto 
respectively. 

Article  XI. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  said  Commissioners  have  caused  this  agreement 
to  be  duly  executed  by  the  President  and  Secretary  of  said  South  Park  Com- 
missioners, and  the  corporate  seal  of  said  South  Park  Commissioners  to  be  here- 
unto affixed,  and  the  said  Company  has  caused  this  agreement  to  be  duly  exe- 


-'?£• 


y 

id 

Df 

ts 


to 
id 
.id 
ig- 
ng 
nd 
aa- 


:e  seal 


IE, 

sident. 


M, 

sident. 


I  THE 
RAIL- 


EN  THE 
e  LAWS 
.RTY  OF 
•RATION 
D  PART, 


into  a 
undary 
ed  and 
i  Com- 
undary 
act  set 
)urt  of 
:nding; 

t  upon 
T  line, 
illotted 
by  the 

sundry 
entered 
tion  of 
firmed, 
tenants 

isult  to 
le  said 
to  said 
e  judg- 
:eeding 
ng  and 
perma- 


-m^ 


';^7H^^i>. 


^ 

.". 

-T~~^ 

-             -         - 

^/__:-^„ 

^ 

I 


355 

cuted  by  the  President  and  Secretary  of  said  Company,  and  its  corporate  seal 
to  be  hereunto  affixed,  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

South  Park  Commissioners, 

By  John  Barton  Payne, 
Seal  President. 

South  Park  Commissioners, 
Cook  County,  Illinois. 

Attest : 

J.  F.  Neil, 
Secretary. 

Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company, 

By  C.  H.  Markham, 
Seal  President. 

Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company. 

Attest : 

D.  R.  Burbank, 
Secretary. 


«.  SUPPLEMENTAL  AGREEMENT  OF  JUNE  26,  1912,  BETWEEN  THE 
SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSIONERS  AND  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAIL- 
ROAD COMPANY. 

this  agreement,  made  this  twenty-sixth  day  of  JUNE,  A.  D.  1912,  between  the 

south  park  commissioners,  a  municipal  corporation  CREATED  BY  THE  LAWS 
OF  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  HEREINAFTER  CALLED  THE  COMMISSIONERS,  PARTY  OF 
THE  FIRST  PART,  AND  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  COMPANY,  A  CORPORATION 
OF  SAID  STATE,  HEREINAFTER  CALLED  THE  COMPANY,  PARTY  OF  THE  SECOND  PART, 
WITNESSETH : 

Whereas,  the  Commissioners  and  the  Company  heretofore  entered  into  a 
certain  contract  dated  March  30,  A.  D.  1912,  for  the  establishment  of  a  boundary 
line  dividing  between  said  Commissioners  and  the  Company  the  submerged  and 
other  lands  which  extend  from  the  east  line  of  the  right  of  way  of  said  Com- 
pany into  and  under  the  public  waters  between  the  termini  of  the  said  boundary 
line  described  in  said  contract,  and  for  other  purposes,  as  in  said  contract  set 
forth,  and  a  petition  has  been  filed  according  to  law  in  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Cook  County,  for  the  confirmation  of  said  contract,  which  cause  is  now  pending; 
and, 

Whereas,  the  parties  deem  it  mutually  advantageous  to  agree  that  upon 
the  confirmation  of  said  contract  and  the  establishment  of  said  boundary  line, 
and  without  prejudice  thereto,  certain  exchanges  of  the  land  thereby  allotted 
shall  be  made  and  certain  restrictions  placed  upon  the  uses  to  be  made  by  the 
Company  of  its  property  as  hereinafter  set  forth;  and, 

Whereas,  in  said  proceedings  pending  in  the  said  Circuit  Court  sundry 
persons  have,  according  to  the  statute  in  such  case  made  and  provided,  entered 
their  appearance  in  said  court,  for  the  purpose  of  opposing  the  confirmation  of 
said  contract  by  said  court,  but  are  willing  that  said  contract  may  be  confirmed, 
provided  that  the  Company  covenants  to  make  the  conveyances  and  covenants 
hereinafter  contained; 

Therefore,  in  consideration  of  the  premises  and  of  the  benefit  to  result  to 
each  of  the  parties  hereto  herefrom,  and  in  further  consideration  of  the  said 
objectors  discontinuing  their  proceedings  in  said  court  in  opposition  to  said 
contract,  and  upon  condition  of  the  establishment  and  confirmation  by  the  judg- 
ment or  judgments,  or  decree  or  decrees,  as  finally  rendered  in  said  proceeding 
or  proceedings,  of  the  said  contract  and  of  the  part  of  the  said  dividing  and 
boundary  line  in  said  contract,  dated  March  30,  1912,  described  as  the  perma- 


356 

nent  dividing  and  boundary  line  along  and  opposite  the  lands  on  the  shore  ad- 
joining the  part  of  the  said  public  waters  in  said  contract  mentioned,  which, 
together  with  the  riparian  rights  pertaining  thereto,  are  now  owned  by  the 
Company,  and  the  acquirement  by  the  Company  of  the  part  of  the  submerged, 
reclaimed,  made  and  penetrating  lands  and  the  waters  thereon,  mentioned  in 
said  contract  as  situate  and  being  on  the  westerly  side  of  said  part  of  said 
boundary  line,  it  is  covenanted  and  agreed  between  the  Commissioners  and  the 
Company  as  follows: 

Article  I. 

The  Company  shall,  within  thirty  (30)  days  after  the  establishment  and 
confirmation  by  the  judgment  or  judgments,  dr  decree  or  decrees,  as  finally  ren- 
dered in  said  proceeding  or  proceedings,  of  the  said  part  of  the  said  dividing 
and  boundary  line,  and  of  the  acquirement  by  the  Company  of  the  said  part  of 
the  said  submerged,  reclaimed,  made  and  penetrating  lands  aforesaid,  convey 
to  the  Commissioners,  free  of  all  incumbrances,  that  part  of  the  said  lands 
acquired  by  the  Company  under  the  said  contract,  or  now  owned  by  it,  bounded 
and  described  as  follows: 

Beginning  at  the  point  at  the  intersection  of  the  north  line  of  Eighteenth 
Street,  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  extended  east,  with  the  boundary  line  established 
In  the  said  contract,  and  running  thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  to 
intersect  the  north  line  of  Twenty-ninth  street  extended  east  at  a  point  five 
hundred  sixty  (560)  feet  easterly  from  and  measured  at  right  angles  to  the 
westerly  waylands  line  of  said  Company;  thence  continuing  southerly  with  said 
straight  line  three  hundred  eight  (308)  feet,  more  or  less,  to  the  intersection 
with  the  south  line  of  the  bulkhead  of  said  Company  produced;  thence  south- 
erly in  a  straight  line  to  a  point  in  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  street  extended 
east  two  hundred  fifty  (250)  feet  easterly  from  and  measured  at  right  angles  to 
the  westerly  waylands  line  of  said  Company;  thence  southerly  parallel  with, 
and  two  hundred  fifty  (250)  feet  easterly  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to 
a  point  one  hundred  eighty-five  (185)  feet  northerly  from  (measured  parallel 
with  said  westerly  waylands  line)  the  center  line  of  Thirty-ninth  street  ex- 
tended east;  thence  easterly  parallel  with  said  center  line  of  Thirty -ninth  street 
extended  east  fifty  (50)  feet  to  the  aforesaid  boundary  line;  thence  northerly 
with  said  boundary  line  to  a  point  in  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  street  ex- 
tended east  three  hundred  (300)  feet  from  and  measured  at  right  angles  to  the 
westerly  waylands  line  of  said  Company;  thence  northerly  with  said  boundary 
line  to  the  intersection  with  the  north  line  of  Twenty-ninth  street  extended 
east  at  a  point  six  hundred  and  sixty  (660)  feet  from  said  westerly  waylands 
line  measured  at  right  angles  thereto;  thence  northerly  along  and  upon  said 
boundary  line  parallel  to  said  westerly  waylands  line  and  six  hundred  sixty 
(660)  feet  therefrom  to  the  intersection  with  the  south  line  of  Twenty-fifth 
Street  extended  east;  thence  northerly  along  and  upon  said  boundary  line  to 
the  point  of  beginning  at  the  north  line  of  Eighteenth  Street  extended  east. 

And,  at  the  same  time,  the  Commissioners  shall  convey  to  and  take  such 
steps  as  may  be  necessary,  by  proceedings  in  chancery  or  otherwise,  to  transfer 
to  the  Company  the  lands  bounded  and  described  as  follows,  to-wit: 

Beginning  at  a  point  at  the  intersection  of  the  south  line  of  Twelfth  Street, 
as  proposed  to  be  widened  by  said  contract,  extended  east,  and  the  boundary 
line  established  in  said  contract,  said  point  being  nine  hundred  fifty-seven  (957) 
feet  east  of  the  west  line  of  Michigan  Avenue;  thence  southerly  with  said  bound- 
ary line  thirteen  hundred  (1300)  feet;  thence  northwesterly  at  an  angle  of  ap- 
proximately nine  degrees  and  thirty-six  minutes  (9°  36')  with  said  boundary  line 
three  hundred  (300)  feet;  thence  parallel  to  and  fifty  (50)  feet  easterly  from 
the  said  boundary  line  nine  hundred  and  eighty-six  (986)  feet,  more  or  less, 
to  the  intersection  with  the  said  proposed  south  line  of  Twelfth  Street  (as  pro- 
posed to  be  widened  as  aforesaid)  extended  east;  thence  westerly  with  said 
pronospd  south  line  of  Twelfth  Street  fifty  (50)  feet,  more  or  less,  to  the  point  of 
beginning. 

BxiT  IT  IS  EXPRESSLY  UNDERSTOOD  AND  AGREED  that  the  failure  of  the  Commis- 
sioners to  convey  and  have  transferred  to  the  Company  the  said  lands  and  prop- 
erty last  above  described  shall  be  wholly  independent  of  and  separable  from  the 


357 

other  covenants  and  obligations  of  this  contract  and  shall  not  relieve  the  Com- 
pany from  its  obligation  to  convey  to  the  Commissioners  the  said  lands  and 
property  above  described  to  be  conveyed  by  it;  the  conveyance  by  the  Company 
to  be  made  independently  of  the  conveyance  by  the  Commissioners  and  without 
reference  thereto- 

Article  II. 

That  upon  the  establishment  and  confirmation  by  the  judgment  or  judgments, 
or  decree  or  decrees,  as  finally  rendered  in  said  proceeding  or  proceedings,  of  the 
said  part  of  said  dividing  and  boundary  line  in  said  contract  dated  March  30, 
1912,  described  as  the  permanent  dividing  and  boundary  line  along  and  opposite 
said  lands  on  the  shore  adjoining  the  said  part  of  the  said  public  waters,  which, 
with  the  riparian  rights  pertaining  thereto,  are  now  owned  by  the  Company,  and 
the  acquirement  by  the  Company  of  the  lands,  rights  and  interests  which  by  the 
said  contract  it  is  agreed  shall  be  vested  in  it  between  the  easterly  line  of  its 
present  right  of  way  and  the  said  part  of  the  said  dividing  and  boundary  line, 
the  following  covenants  and  agreements  in  this  article  contained  shall  be  in  force 
and  binding  upon  the  parties  hereto,  and  those  to  claim  under  them: 

(1)  The  said  Company  shall  cause  and  hereby  covenants  that  it  will  cause 
that  section  of  its  roadbed  (including  both  its  present  land  and  that  to  be  ac- 
quired and  held  by  it  under  said  contract  of  March  30,  1912),  lying  between  the 
following  described  east  and  west  lines,  namely,  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first 
Street  extended  east  and  the  south  line  of  Forty-third  street  extended  east,  to  be 
depressed  in  such  manner  that  the  base  of  the  rails  of  the  west  and  east  tracks 
laid  thereon  shall  not  exceed  in  elevation  four  (4)  feet  above  Chicago  city  datum; 
and  the  space  between  those  two  tracks  may  be  crowned  sufficiently  to  afford 
proper  drainage.  South  of  the  said  south  line  of  said  Forty-third  Street  projected 
east  the  said  roadbed  and  right  of  way  of  the  Company  shall  be  so  depressed  and 
adjusted  that  the  tracks  laid  thereon  may  be  connected  by  a  gradient  not  ex- 
ceeding three-tenths  of  one  per  cent,  with  the  tracks  that  may  be  laid  between 
said  north  line  of  Thirty-first  Street  projected  east  and  the  south  line  of  Forty- 
third  street  so  projected;  north  of  the  said  north  line  of  said  Thirty-first  Street 
projected  east  the  roadbed  and  right  of  way  shall  be  so  depressed  and  adjusted 
that  the  tracks  laid  thereon  may  be  connected  by  a  gradient  not  exceeding  three- 
tenths  of  one  per  cent,  with  the  said  tracks  that  may  be  laid  as  aforesaid  be- 
tween said  north  line  of  Thirty-first  street  and  the  south  line  of  Forty-third 
Street  projected  east;  provided,  however,  that  the  Company  shall  not  be  required 
to  depress  its  tracks  as  hereinbefore  in  this  paragraph  agreed,  until  the  City  of 
Chicago,  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  or  other  public  or  municipal  authority 
having  or  controlling  any  sewer  or  other  underground  work  upon  said  right  of 
way  shall  have  altered,  relaid  or  relocated  such  of  its  sewers  and  other  under- 
ground work  now  located  upon  said  portion  of  said  right  of  way  as  may  at  pres- 
ent interfere  with  such  depression  or  be  endangered,  obstructed  or  disturbed 
thereby,  so  as  to  permit  said  depression  to  be  carried  down  to  the  elevation 
aforesaid  without  such  interference,  obstruction  or  danger. 

(2)  In  addition  to  the  restrictions  provided  in  the  said  contract  of  March 
30,  1912,  for  the  use  of  the  right  of  way  and  lands  of  the  Company,  both  those 
at  present  owned  and  those  to  be  acquired  by  virtue  of  said  contract,  the  Com- 
pany further  covenants  and  agrees  that  no  building  of  any  dimensions  whatever, 
or  for  any  purpose  whatever,  except  as  hereinafter  in  this  paragraph  provided, 
shall  hereafter  be  erected,  constructed  or  maintained,  or  permitted  to  be  erected, 
constructed  or  maintained,  upon  any  part  of  that  portion  of  the  said  right  of  way 
or  lands  of  the  Company,  including  those  now  owned  and  those  to  be  acquired  by 
virtue  of  said  contract,  lying  between  a  line  five  hundred  (500)  feet  north  of  the 
north  line  of  Twenty-ninth  street  projected  east  and  the  north  line  of  Fifty-first 
Street,  and  that,  except  as  hereinafter  in  this  paragraph  provided,  no  part  of 
said  portion  of  said  right  of  way  south  of  Thirty-first  Street  shall  be  used  as  a 
railroad  yard,  or  for  the  storage  of  cars,  locomotives  or  equipment,  or  be  put  to 
any  use  except  for  the  maintenance  of  railroad  tracks  and  the  passage  of  trains 
engines  and  cars,  and  there  shall  not  be  placed  upon  any  part  of  the  said  portion 
of  said  railroad  and  right  of  way  lying  between  the  said  line  five  hundred  (500) 


358 

feet  north  of  the  north  line  of  Twenty-ninth  Street  projected  east  and  the  north 
line  of  Fifty-first  street  any  advertising  signs  or  other  obstructions  to  the  view 
of  adjacent  property  or  lands,  except  to  the  extent  necessary  for  the  approach  to 
the  elevated  connecting  track  on  or  near  Forty-first  Street  and  as  may  be  re- 
quired in  the  maintenance  of  said  tracks  and  in  the  operation  thereof  under  the 
requirements  of  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois  or  the  ordinances  of  the  City  of 
Chicago;  provided,  that  the  restrictions  in  this  paragraph  contained  shall  not 
be  held  to  interfere  with  the  erection  and  construction  of  switch  shanties, 
switch  towers,  signal  structures  and  electrical  construction,  when  and  where 
necessary  for  the  actual  operation  of  the  railroad  of  the  Company,  nor  with  the 
location  and  construction,  at  convenient  and  appropriate  places,  of  waiting 
rooms,  shelters  at  suburban  depots,  and  other  buildings  and  structures  to  be 
devoted  solely  to  passenger  service  and  accommodations;  and,  provided  further, 
that  no  such  shanty,  tower,  structure,  construction,  waiting  room,  shelter,  or 
other  building  or  structure  shall  be  higher  than  reasonably  necessary  for  the 
purposes  thereof;  and,  provided  further,  that  whenever  the  character  of  the 
occupancy  of  the  district  west  of  and  bordering  upon  the  right  of  way  or  street 
adjacent  thereto,  between  a  line  five  hundred  (500)  feet  north  of  the  north  line 
of  Twenty-ninth  Street  and  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  Street,  shall  change 
from  a  residence  or  dwelling  neighborhood  to  an  industrial  neighborhood,  then 
the  Company  may,  with  the  consent  of  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago, 
but  not  otherwise,  erect  a  building  or  buildings,  upon  the  said  portion  north  of 
the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  Street,  at  such  place  or  places,  and  under  such 
restrictions,  as  may  be  permitted  by  the  said  City  Council  of  Chicago.  But  it  is 
understood  and  agreed  that  nothing  in  this  paragraph  contained  shall  prevent 
the  Company  from  using  the  west  fifty  (50)  feet  of  its  said  railroad  and  right 
of  way  between  the  north  line  of  Forty-first  Street  and  the  south  line  of  Forty- 
third  Street  now  used  for  team  tracks  and  terminal  facilities,  for  such  purposes, 
nor  from  using  the  part  of  its  present  two  hundred  (200)  feet  right  of  way 
between  Forty-ninth  Street  and  Fifty-first  Street  and  its  property  on  the  east 
side  thereof  now  used  for  team  tracks  and  terminal  facilities,  for  such  purposes, 
nor  from  erecting  any  building  required  in  the  operation  of  its  railroad  upon 
its  property  between  Forty-ninth  and  Fifty-first  Streets  lying  east  of  said  two 
hundred  (200)  feet  right  of  way. 

(3)  The  Company  further  covenants  and  agrees  that  as  to  that  part  or 
portion  of  the  land  now  owned  by  it  or  to  be  acquired  by  it  under  the  said  con- 
tract dated  March  30,  1912  (except  that  part  thereof  to  be  reconveyed  by  the 
Company  as  by  this  contract  provided),  lying  between  the  north  line  of  Forty- 
first  Street  projected  east  and  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  Street,  projected 
east,  and  east  of  a  line  drawn  parallel  with  and  two  hundred  (200)  feet  east- 
erly from  the  present  westerly  waylands  line  of  the  Company,  and  as  to  that 
part  or  portion  of  the  land  now  owned  by  it  or  so  to  be  acquired  lying  between 
the  said  north  line  of  Forty-first  Street  projected  east  and  the  north  line  of 
Forty-ninth  street  so  projected,  and  east  of  a  line  drawn  parallel  with  and  two 
hundred  fifty  (250)  feet  easterly  from  the  said  westerly  waylands  line  as  now 
established,  no  locomotive,  engine,  train  or  car  shall  at  any  time  be  run,  oper- 
ated or  moved  except  by  a  motive  power  other  than  steam,  provided  that 'when- 
ever the  Company  shall  have  made  provision  to  arrange,  and  shall  in  good  faith 
enter  upon  the  arrangement  of,  at  least  four  of  its  tracks  of  railwav  extending 
over  the  entire  distance  between  said  north  line  of  Thirtv-first  street  projected 
east  and  the  north  line  of  Forty-ninth  Street  projected  east  and  to  be  used  for 
the  passage  of  trains  for  the  operation  regularly  thereon  of  cars  and  trains  by 
a  motive  power  other  than  steam,  then  it  may  run,  operate  or  move  locomotives 
engines,  trams  or  cars  over  said  land  lying  east  of  said  lines  above  described  in 
this  paragraph  as  parallel  with  said  westerly  waylands  line,  provided  only  that 
the  Company  shall,  in  such  case,  proceed  with  all  due  diligence  and  dispatch  to 
make  said  change  and  to  regularly  use  upon  said  four  tracks  a  motive  power 
other  than  steam;  but  if  the  Company  fails  to  proceed  with  all  due  diligence 
and  dispatch  as  aforesaid  or  fails  to  regularly  use  upon  said  four  tracks  a 
motive  power  other  than  steam  as  aforesaid,  then  its  right  to  run,  operate  or 
mme  locomotives  engines,  trains  or  cars  over  said  land  lying  east  of  said  lines 
above  described  shall,  while  the  Companv  so  fails   cease 


359 

(4)  That,  in  addition  to  the  viaducts  which  the  Commissioners  are  given 
authority  to  construct  and  maintain,  under  the  provisions  of  Article  VII  of  said 
contract  dated  March  30,  1912,  the  Commissioners  and  the  City  of  Chicago,  and 
each,  or  either  of  them,  are  and  is  hereby  authorized  and  expressly  given  the 
right  by  the  Company  to  construct  and  maintain  viaducts  over  the  tracks,  lands 
and  rights  of  way  of  the  Company  at  present  owned  or  acquired  or  to  be  ac- 
quired by  the  Company,  under  said  contract,  and  not  reconveyed  as  herein  pro- 
viaed,  in  line  with  the  projection  eastward  of  any  east  and  west  streets  between 
and  including  Twenty-second  Street  and  Forty-ninth  Street,  in  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago, but  subject  to  the  provisions  and  restrictions  in  said  Article  VII  con- 
tained as  to  character  of  the  superstructure,  the  height  thereof  above  the  top 
of  the  railroad  tracks,  the  location  and  distance  apart  of  the  supports  or  piers, 
the  clearance  to  be  provided  at  each  span,  the  size  or  space  to  be  occupied  by 
such  supports  or  piers,  and  the  like,  it  being  the  intention  hereof  that  as  to  the 
additional  viaducts  herein  authorized,  they  shall  be  constructed  and  maintained 
under  the  same  conditions  and  provisions  as  are  contained  in  the  said  Article 
VII  in  relation  to  the  viaducts  therein  authorized.  It  is  understood  and  agreed 
that  the  Company  shall  not  demand  or  receive  any  compensation  because  of 
the  construction  or  maintenance  of  the  said  viaducts,  as  aforesaid,  across  its 
said  right  of  way  and  lands,  but  it  is  understood  and  agreed  that  any  such 
viaducts  shall  be  so  constructed  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  said  Company  in 
the  operation  and  use  of  its  said  railroad. 

(5)  That  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  the  Commissioners,  and  each  or  either 
of  them,  are  hereby  authorized  and  expressly  given  the  right  by  the  Company 
to  construct  and  maintain  a  subway  under  the  tracks  and  railroad  constructed 
and  to  be  constructed  upon  the  right  of  way  and  lands  of  the  Company  now 
owned  or  to  be  acquired  under  the  said  contract  of  March  30,  1912  (except  that 
part  thereof  to  be  reconveyed  by  the  Company  as  by  this  contract  provided),  on 
a  line  with  Eighteenth  Street  projected  east;  provided,  however,  that  such  sub- 
way shall  be  so  constructed  and  maintained  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  said 
Company  in  the  operation  and  use  of  its  said  railroad  and  tracks. 

(6)  The  Company  covenants  and  agrees  that  the  Commissioners  and  City 
of  Chicago,  and  each  or  either  of  them,  shall  at  all  times  have  the  power  and 
authority,  by  themselves  or  the  agents  or  contractors  of  either  of  them,  to  lay, 
construct  and  maintain  sewer  pipes,  water  pipes,  gas  pipes  and  other  conduits 
transversely  across  the  right  of  way  of  the  Company,  provided  that  such  pipes 
and  conduits  shall  be  located  at  such  appropriate  places  as  may  be  selected,  from 
time  to  time,  as  will  not  interfere  with  the  use  of  the  lands  of  the  Company 
for  railroad  purposes,  and  subject  to  such  use. 

(7)  Nothing  in  said  contract  dated  March  30,  1912,  or  in  this  contract  con- 
tained, shall  be  construed  to  deprive  the  City  of  Chicago  of  any  of  its  police 
powers,  or  of  its  right  at  any  and  all  times  hereafter  to  pass  all  necessary  or 
reasonable  lawful  police  regulations  concerning  the  construction,  maintenance, 
use  and  operation  of  the  part  of  the  Company's  property  between  Twelfth  and 
Fifty-first  Streets  (both  that  now  owned  and  that  hereafter  acquired  under  said 
contracts),  all  of  which  powers  and  rights  shall  be  held  to  be  expressly  granted 
to  the  City  of  Chicago  by  this  contract. 

(8)  It  is  understood  and  agreed  that  none  of  the  rights  or  claims  of  the 
City  of  Chicago,  under  any  ordinances  of  said  city  or  any  previous  contract, 
are  to  be  deemed  waived,  released  or  surrendered  by  the  said  contract  dated 
March  30,  1912,  or  by  this  contract,  or  by  any  action  taken  pursuant  to  said 
contracts,  unless  such  right  or  claim  should  be  expressly  in  conflict  therewith. 

Article  III. 

That  whenever  an  ordinance  shall  be  passed  by  the  City  Council  of  the  City 
of  Chicago  and  accepted  or  acted  upon  by  the  Company,  permitting  the  Company 
to  remove  its  Twelfth  Street  station  and  office  building  south  of  a  line  drawn 
parallel  with  and  eighty -five  (85)  feet  south  of  the  south  line  of  Twelfth  Street 
(east  of  Michigan  avenue)  as  now  established,  as  contemplated  in  said  contract 
of  March  30,  1912,  the  following  covenants  shall  be  in  force  and  are  hereby 
agreed  to: 


360 

(1)  The  Company  will,  and  hereby  covenants  and  agrees  that  whenever 
the  City  of  Chicago  shall  pass  an  ordinance  to  widen,  and  shall  take  the  neces- 
sary steps  to  widen,  Indiana  Avenue  between  Sixteenth  Street  and  Thirteenth 
Street  to  a  width  of  one  hundred  (100)  feet,  it  (said  Company)  will  (without 
cost  or  expense  to  said  city)  dedicate  sufficient  land  along  the  easterly  side  of 
the  part  of  said  Indiana  Avenue  as  now  established  between  the  north  line  of 
the  property  owned  by  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad  Company  (which  line  Is 
approximately  two  hundred  seventy-six  (276)  feet  north  of  the  north  line  of 
Sixteenth  Street)  and  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  to  make  Indiana  Ave- 
nue a  public  street  of  the  width  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  (100)  feet 
throughout  the  entire  distance  between  said  lines;  and  that  when  said  Indiana 
Avenue  between  Thirteenth  and  Sixteenth  Streets  is  widened  as  herein  proposed 
and  the  City  of  Chicago  shall  have  commenced  condemnation  proceedings  to 
obtain  the  necessary  land  lying  immediately  south  of  and  between  the  said 
lands  to  be  dedicated  by  the  Company  for  such  purpose  and  Sixteenth  Street,  so 
as  to  make  said  Indiana  Avenue  between  said  Thirteenth  and  Sixteenth  Streets 
of  the  uniform  width  of  one  hundred  feet,  the  said  Company  hereby  further 
agrees  not  to  contest  such  condemnation  proceedings  and  shall  pay  its  assessable 
proportion  as  an  owner  of  property  benefited  by  said  improvement,  of  the  cost  of 
securing  such  further  lands  between  the  said  land  to  be  dedicated  by  the  Com- 
pany and  said  north  line  of  Sixteenth  Street,  and  further  agrees  not  to  interpose 
in  such  proceeding  the  contention  that  by  reason  of  its  dedication  of  its  said 
lands  as  aforesaid,  for  said  purpose,  it  shall  not  be  liable  for  any  part  of  the 
cost  incurred  by  the  city  in  securing  the  said  lands  south  of  the  lands  so  dedi- 
cated by  the  Company. 

(2)  The  Company  will  and  hereby  covenants  and  agrees  to  grant  and 
dedicate  (without  cost  or  expense  to  said  city)  sufficient  land  for  the  relocation 
of  Indiana  Avenue  between  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  and  the  south 
line  of  Twelfth  Street  as  widened  as  a  continuous  public  street  not  less  than 
one  hundred  (100)  feet  in  width,  provided  the  City  of  Chicago  shall  relocate  said 
street  as  in  this  paragraph  provided  and  consent  to  the  vacation  and  shall  va- 
cate such  parts  of  Indiana  Avenue  as  are  now  located  north  of  Thirteenth  Street 
and  south  of  the  south  line  of  Twelfth  Street  as  proposed  to  be  widened  as  shall 
not  be  required  for  said  Indiana  Avenue  as  relocated;  and,  provided  further,  that 
Indiana  Avenue,  as  widened  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this  paragraph,  shall 
be  a  direct  and  continuous  public  street  from  the  portion  thereof  lying  immedi- 
ately south  of  the  south  line  of  Thirteenth  Street  to  the  south  line  of  Twelfth 
Street  as  widened,  but  said  Indiana  Avenue  as  relocated  shall  connect  with  said 
Twelfth  Street  as  widened,  so  that  the  west  line  of  said  Indiana  Avenue  as 
relocated  shall  intersect  and  thence  proceed  northwardly  along  the  west  line  of 
the  alley  between  Michigan  Avenue  and  Indiana  Avenue  in  the  block  between 
said  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth  Streets.  When  Indiana  Avenue  shall  be  so  widened 
and  relocated  the  station  of  the  Company  at  Twelfth  street  shall  be  located 
east  of  Indiana  Avenue. 

(3)  Whenever  the  Commissioners  shall  have  procured  title  to  and  hold 
for  park  purposes  the  tract  of  land  as  follows,  to-wit:  Lots  two  (2)  to  twelve 
(12),  both  inclusive,  of  Johnson  &  Laflin's  Subdivision  of  Lots  one  (1),  two 
(2),  three  (3)  and  part  of  Lot  four  (4).  in  Block  twenty-three  (23)  in  Frac- 
tional Section  fifteen  (15),  Addition  to  Chicago,  all  being  in  the  City  of  Chicago, 
County  of  Cook,  and  State  of  Illinois,  as  provided  in  said  contract  of  March  30, 
1912,  the  Company  shall  and  hereby  covenants  that  upon  the  performance  of  the 
following  conditions  and  provisos  in  this  paragraph  contained,  it  will  dedicate 
(without  cost  or  expense  to  the  City  of  Chicago  or  the  Commissioners)  the  west 
forty  (40)  feet  of  the  property  owned  by  it,  or  held  for  its  benefit,  and  adjacent 
to  and  east  of  Michigan  Avenue  and  south  of  Twelfth  Street,  in  said  block  be- 
tween Twelfth  and  Thirteenth  Streets,  for  the  widening  of  Michigan  Avenue 
between  said  streets,  provided  that  the  Commissioners,  or  other  proper  public 
body,  shall,  within  three  (3)  years  from  this  date,  in  good  faith  begin  proceed- 
ings to  condemn  or  acquire  the  forty  (40)  feet  east  of  and  adjoining  Michigan 
Avenue  and  south  of  the  said  forty  (40)  feet  owned  or  held  by  the  Company  in 
said  block  and  north  of  the  north  line  of  Thirteenth  Street,  for  and  as  a  part 
of  Michigan  Avenue  as  widened,  and  shall,  within  five   (5)  years,  have  finally 


361 

elected  to  take  or  acquire  in  such  condemnation  proceeding  or  proceedings  said 
strip  south  of  the  said  forty  (40)  feet  owned  or  held  by  the  Company,  or  shall 
have  otherwise  acquired  said  strip. 

Article  IV. 

The  Company  expressly  covenants  and  agrees  that  the  provisions,  obliga- 
tions, requirements  and  restrictions  in  this  contract  provided  for  shall  at  all 
times  be  operative  and  are  entered  into  for  the  benefit  of  the  City  of  Chicago  as 
well  as  the  Commissioners,  and  may  at  all  times  be  enforced  according  to  their 
terms  by  the  City  of  Chicago,  or  the  Commissioners,  or  both. 

Article  V. 

The  Company  for  further  assurance  hereby  covenants  and  agrees  to  secure 
all  consents  and  releases  that  may  be  required  from  any  mortgagee  or  trustee 
of  its  property  to  mal^e  the  conveyances  and  dedications  it  is  by  this  contract 
obligated  to  make,  fully  effectual,  and  free  of  all  incumbrances. 

Article  VI. 

It  is  understood  and  agreed  that  this  contract  shall  be  without  prejudice  to 
the  said  contract  of  March  30,  1912,  and  that  said  contract  shall  remain  unim- 
paired by  this  agreement;  it  being  the  intention  hereof  and  agreed  that  only 
upon  the  said  contract  being  established  and  confirmed  as  made,  the  provisions 
hereof  shall  be  in  force  and  have  effect,  in  addition  to  the  provisions  of  the 
said  contract,  but  not  otherwise. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  said  Commissioners  have  caused  this  agreement 
to  be  duly  executed  by  the  President  and  Secretary  of  said  South  Park  Com- 
missioners and  the  corporate  seal  of  said  South  Park  Commissioners  to  be  here- 
unto affixed,  and  the  said  Company  has  caused  this  agreement  to  be  duly  exe- 
cuted by  the  President  and  Secretary  of  said  Company,  and  its  corporate  seal 
to  be  hereunto  affixed,  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

South  Park  Commissioners, 

By  John  Barton  Payne, 

Its  President. 
Attest: 

J.  F.  Neil, 
Secretary. 

Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company, 

By  C.  H.  Markham, 

Its  President. 
Attest: 

D.  R.   BURBANK, 

Secretary. 


362 


4.     FINAL  DECREE  OP  JUDGE  HONORE,  JULY  10,  1912. 


State  of  Illinois, 
County  of  Cook. 


In  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County. 


> 


In  the  matter  of  the  Petition  of  the  South  Park  >\ 
Commissioners  praying  that  the  boundary 
line  fixed  by  an  agreement  between  the  South 
Parli  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company  be  confirmed,  and  that  the 
boundary  line  between  the  lands  to  be  ac- 
quired by  the  defendant,  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company,  and  the  lands  to  be  ac- 
quired by  your  petitioner  under  said  con- 
tract be  established  and  confirmed. 

This  day  comes  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  the  petitioner  in  the  above 
entitled  cause,  and  it  appearing  to  the  court  that  the  following  defendants  and 
each  of  them  were  duly  and  legally  served  with  process  in  this  cause  by  personal 
service,  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  statute  in  such  case  made 
and  provided,  more  than  ten  (10)  days  before  the  first  day  of  this  present  June 
term,  A.  D.  1912,  of  this  court,  viz.,  Florence  Ann  D.  Reed,  Mrs.  Fred  L.  Fake, 
William  H.  Gardner,  George  A.  Gardner,  Helen  M.  Sloat,  George  W.  Sloat,  Allie 
M.  Rogers,  Ernest  J.  Rogers,  William  H.  Wells,  Jr.,  and  Frances  B.  Wells. 

And  also  it  appearing  to  the  court  that  the  following  defendants  and  each 
of  them  were  duly  and  legally  served  with  process  in  this  cause  by  publication, 
in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  statute  in  such  case  made  and  pro- 
vided, the  last  publication  being  not  more  than  twenty  (20)  days  nor  less  than 
ten  days  prior  to  the  first  day  of  the  May  term,  A.  D.  1912,  of  this  court,  viz., 
Lewis  W.  Kilbourn,  Orpha  J.  Kilbourn,  James  S.  Kilbourn,  heirs  and  devisees 
of  Ellen  A.  Kilbourn,  deceased;  Joseph  S.  Reed,  Florence  A.  D.  Reid,  Joseph 
S.  Reid,  Effie  R.  Fake,  Winnifred  S.  Reed,  Mary  Florence  Reed,  heirs  and  de- 
visees of  John  Y.  Scammon  and  Arianna  E.  Scammon,  deceased;  Cynthia  Fuller, 
devisee  of  Thomas  Brock  Fuller,  deceased;  Almira  H.  Gardner,  Mary  G.  Brain- 
erd,  Harry  J.  Brainerd,  Jessie  S.  Gardner,  heirs  of  Samuel  S.  Gardner,  deceased; 
Mary  G.  Gardner,  Jennie  L.  Gardner,  Flora  M.  Gardner,  heirs  and  devisees  of 
Daniel  G.  Gardner,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  S.  Newton  Dexter, 
deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Stephen  Bronson,  Jr.,  deceased;  un- 
known heirs  and  devisees  of  Belden  F.  Culver,  deceased;  Sarah  E.  Wells,  Lydia 
N.  Wells,  George  G.  Wells,  heirs  and  devisees  of  William  Harvey  Wells,  de- 
ceased; unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Mary  A.  Clark,  deceased;  unknown  heirs 
and  devisees  of  John  F.  Seaman,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Au- 
gustus M.  Herrington,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Abby  Ford, 
deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  S.  G.  Pope,  individually  and  as  trustee, 
deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Amanda  Acker,  deceased;  unknown 
heirs  and  devisees  of  William  P.  Kilbourn,  deceased;  unknown  heirs  and  devisees 
of  Martha  P.  Wells,  deceased;  and  all  persons  made  defendant  to  said  petition 
by  the  name  and  style  of  "unknown  owners,"  and  all  persons  made  defendant  to 
said  petition  by  the  name  and  style  of  "all  persons  whom  it  may  concern." 

And  that  neither  nor  any  of  said  defendants  has  appeared  in  this  cause, 
nor  filed  any  answer  or  other  pleading  herein,  and  for  want  of  such  appearance, 
by  order  of  court  heretofore  entered  herein,  said  petition  has  been  taken  pro 
confesso  as  against  said  defendants  and  each  of  them,  and  the  court  doth  hereby 
order  and  decree  that  said  petition  be  taken  pro  confesso  against  said  above 
named  defendants  and  each  of  them  for  want  of  appearance  or  answer  herein. 

And  it  further  appearing  to  the  court  that  a  disclaimer  has  been  filed  in   ' 
this  cause  in  and  by  which  the  defendants  next  hereinafter  named  disclaim  any 
interest  in  said  litigation  or  any  right,  title  or  interest  in  and  to  the  subject 


363 

matter  thereof,  namely:  Matilda  Spiegel,  Albert  Liebenstein,  Jennie  Freudenthal, 
Ella  Fox,  Julia  Mayer,  formerly  Julia  Liebenstein,  heirs  and  devisees  of  Joseph 
Liebenstein  and  Lena  Liebenstein,  deceased;  also  Bernard  Mayer,  Leo  Fox, 
Joseph  Spiegel,  Rose  Liebenstein  and  John  Freudenthal. 

It  is  further  ordered  by  the  court  that  said  petition  be  taken  pro  confess© 
against  the  unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  Mabel  A.  Buchanan,  deceased;  the 
unknown  heirs  and  devisees  of  John  R.  Buchanan,  deceased,  and  against  Lena 
Liebenstein,  said  parties  having  also  been  duly  served  by  publication  herein  and 
having  failed  to  appear  or  to  plead  to  said  petition. 

And  it  further  appearing  to  the  court  that  the  defendants  Allen  B.  Pond, 
Lessing  Rosenthal,  Joseph  Cummins,  Robert  Catherwood,  Chas.  E.  Merriam, 
Thomas  W.  Swan  and  F.  Bruce  Johnstone  heretofore  entered  their  appearance 
herein  as  legal  voters  and  taxpayers  within  the  district  and  territory  in  which 
the  property  for  the  maintenance  of  the  park  system  under  the  control  of  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  is  taxable,  for  the  purpose  of  objecting  to  the  con- 
firmation of  the  said  contract,  dated  the  30th  day  of  March,  1912,  in  their  own 
proper  persons  and  by  Messrs.  Rosenthal  &  Hamill,  Joseph  S.  Cummins,  Robert 
Catherwood,  Thomas  W.  Swan  and  F.  B.  Johnstone,  their  solicitors,  and,  pur- 
suant to  the  order  of  court  and  the  statute  in  such  case  made  and  provided, 
were  made  parties  defendant  in  these  proceedings. 

And  it  further  appearing  that  on  June  27.  1912,  the  said  Allen  B.  Pond, 
Lessing  Rosenthal,  Joseph  Cummins.  Robert  Catherwood,  Chas.  E.  Merriam, 
Thomas  W.  Swan  and  F.  Bruce  Johnstone  appeared  in  open  court,  by  their  said 
solicitors,  and.  for  reason  then  stated  by  them  in  onen  court  discontinued  their 
proceediTigs  in  this  court  in  opnosition  to  the  confirmation  of  said  contract  of 
March  30  1912.  and  that  the  said  named  persons  have  ever  since  the  26th  day 
of  .Tune.  1912.  discontinued  their  proceedings  in  this  court  in  onposition  to  said 
contraf>t.  and  now  in  onen  court  withdraw  their  anoearances  herein,  and  also 
comes  the  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce,  bv  Messrs.  Defrees,  Buckingham, 
Ritter  &  Faton.  their  solicitors,  and  for  reason  stated  in  open  court  now  withdraw 
its  annearance  herein,  and  the  defendant  George  A.  Hyers  having  in  onen  court 
stinnlated  to  adont  the  answer  of  Henry  W.  Lee  as  and  for  his  answer  to  the 
petition  in  said  case  and  the  court  having  ordered  that  the  answer  of  said  Henry 
W.  Lee  stfind  as  and  for  and  on  behalf  of  George  A.  Hyers,  said  Lee  consenting 
thereto:  also,  the  defendants.  Maclay  Hovne  and  the  Citv  of  Chicago,  having 
apneared  in  onen  court  by  William  H.  Sexton,  their  counsel,  and  entered  a 
motion  for  leave  to  withdraw  their  resneotive  annearances  and  answer  filed  in 
said  cause,  and  the  court  having  granted  the  motion  heretofore,  and  entered  an 
order  aliowine  such  withdrawal,  said  Citv  of  Chicago  and  said  Maclay  Hoyne 
are  no  longer  to  be  deemed  defendants  to  said  petition. 

And  it  appearing  to  the  court,  also,  that  Arend  Van  Vlissingen  filed  a  de- 
murrer to  the  petition  herein,  which  demurrer  the  court  overruled,  and  said  Van 
Vlissingen  having  in  open  court  announced  his  election  to  stand  by  his  demurrer, 
said  petition  is  as  against  said  Van  Vlissingen  hereby  ordered  taken  pro  con- 
fesso. 

And  it  further  appearing  to  the  court  that  the  defendants  Clark  S.  Reed  and 
Fred  L.  Fake  filed  their  ioint  plea  and  answer  herein  and  subsequently  filed  their 
written  consent  and  stipulation,  signed  by  each  of  them  personally,  that  said 
plea  and  answer  be  withdrawn  and  consenting  that  a  decree  may  be  entered 
herein  in  accordance  with  the  prayer  of  the  petition. 

It  further  appearing  to  the  court  that  the  defendants,  the  United  States 
Trust  Company  of  New  York,  a  corporation,  and  the  Guaranty  Trust  Company 
of  New  York,  a  corporation,  Samuel  R.  Buchanan,  Stewart  H.  Buchanan,  Mary 
Buchanan.  Elizabeth  R.  Dupee,  formerly  Elizabeth  R.  Buchanan,  John  R.  Buch- 
anan, Walter  Buchanan,  Katherine  R.  Spencer,  formerly  Catherine  R.  Buchanan, 
James  O.  R.  Buchanan,  Mable  R.  Buchanan,  Mrs.  H.  B.  Swift  and  William  H.  R. 
Buchanan,  otherwise  known  as  W.  Hume  R.  Buchanan,  and  Robert  R.  Buchanan, 
heirs  and  devisees  of  said  John  S.  Buchanan,  deceased,  and  said  John  R.  Buch- 
anan, deceased;  also  Marie  L.  Meeker,  Margaret  Meeker  Cook,  David  S.  Cook,  Jr., 
Louise  Meeker  Walker,  James  R.  Walker  and  Arthur  Walker,  heirs  and  devises 
of  Arthur  B.   Meeker,   deceased,  and   each  of  them,   entered  their  appearance 


364 

herein  and  filed  their  consents  in  writing  that  a  decree  may  be  entered  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  prayer  of  the  petition  herein. 

And  thereupon  said  cause  coming  on  to  be  heard  upon  the  petition  of  the 
Soutli  Park  Commissioners,  and  the  several  answers  thereto  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company,  Henry  W.  Lee  and  George  A.  Hyers,  defendants,  and 
the  replications  of  said  petitioner  to  each  of  said  answers,  and  upon  the  proofs, 
oral,  written  and  documentary,  heard  and  offered  in  said  cause,  which  proofs  the 
court  hereby  orders  to  be  reduced  to  writing  and  filed  herein  together  with  all 
exhibits  and  documentary  proof  within  thirty  (30)  days  from  this  date,  same 
to  be  certified  by  the  court  as  the  evidence  upon  which  this  decree  is  based,  and 
the  court  having  considered  said  evidence  and  having  heard  the  arguments  of 
counsel,  and  being  now  fully  advised  in  the  premises,  does  find,  order,  adjudge 
and  decree: 

1.  That  it  has  jurisdiction  of  the  subject  matter  and  of  all  of  the  parties 
above  named,  petitioner  and  defendants,  to  the  said  petition. 

2.  That  all  of  the  material  allegations  of  the  petition  in  this  case  filed,  are 
true;  that  the  equities  of  this  case  are  with  the  petitioner,  and  that  the  petitioner 
is  entitled  to  the  relief  in  and  by  said  petition  prayed. 

3.  The  court  doth  find  from  the  evidence  and  doth  adjudge  and  decree,  that 
the  South  Park  Commissioners  is  a  public  municipal  corporation,  as  in  said 
petition  alleged,  and  that  John  Barton  Payne,  Joseph  Donnersberger,  Henry  G. 
Foreman,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson  and  Edward  Tilden  are  the  duly  appointed  and 
acting  park  commissioners  and  constitute  the  South  Park  Commissioners. 

4.  That  the  said  South  Park  Commissioners  has  control  over  two  separate 
public  parks,  namely.  Grant  Park  and  Jackson  Park,  which  are  within  the  City 
of  Chicago  and  are  of  the  location  and  area  in  said  petition  described:  That 
the  same  and  each  of  them  border  upon  the  shore  and  the  public  waters  of  Lake 
Michigan  and  are  situated  within  the  County  of  Cook  and  State  of  Illinois. 

5.  That  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  said  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners has  power  to  connect  said  Grant  Park  and  said  Jackson  Park  by  con- 
structing a  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway,  extending  over  and  upon  the  bed  of 
said  public  waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  over  and  upon  the  lands  penetrating  into 
said  waters.  That  said  South  Park  Commissioners  propose  and  intend  to  con- 
struct such  boulevard,  driveway  or  parkway,  extending  over  such  public  waters 
and  penetrating  lands,  for  the  purpose  of  connecting  said  Grant  Park  and  Jack- 
son Park. 

6.  That  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  is  a  corporation  organized 
and  existing  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  is  the  owner  of  all  the 
shore  lands  and  riparian  rights  thereto  appurtenant,  upon  and  along  the  shores 
of  Lake  Michigan,  extending  the  entire  distance  from  the  south  line  of  Lake 
Park  Place  produced  east  to  the  north  line  of  Forty-ninth  Street  extended  east, 
in  said  City  of  Chicago,  except  two  certain  pieces  of  property  located  on  the 
shore  (one  of  which  is  owned  by  the  City  of  Chicago),  mentioned  in  the  excep- 
tion contained  in  the  next  succeeding  paragraph  hereof. 

7.  It  is  therefore,  ordered,  adjudged  and  decreed  by  the  court  that  the 
agreement  made  and  entered  into  between  the  petitioner,  the  South  Park  Com- 
missioners, and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  defendant,  and  bearing 
date  the  30th  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1912,  which  is  alleged  and  set  forth  in  the 
petition  of  the  South  Park  Commissioners  filed  herein,  a  copy  of  which  agree- 
ment is  attached  to  said  petition  as  "Exhibit  A,"  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
confirmed,  and  the  court  doth  hereby  order,  adjudge  and  decree  that  the  perma- 
nent boundary  line  dividing  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be 
acquired,  taken,  owned  and  used  by  the  petitioner,  the  South  Park  Commission- 
ers, and  the  submerged  and  other  lands  and  rights  to  be  acquired,  taken,  owned 
and  used  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  (in  lieu  of,  and  as  com- 
pensation for,  the  release  of  said  riparian  rights  and  of  part  of  said  penetrating 
lands  to  the  commissioners,  as  hereinafter  provided),  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
established  and  confirmed  as  follows: 

Commencing  at  a  point  in  the  south  line  of  said  Lake  Park  Place  produced 
east,  that  is  seven  hundred  and  sixty-one  (761)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of 
Michigan  Avenue,  and  extending  thus  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  to  inter- 
sect with  the  proposed  south  line  of  Twelfth  Street  Boulevard  (extended  east) 


365 

at  a  point  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven  (877)  feet  east  of  the  west  line  of 
Michigan  Avenue,  thence  east  eighty  (80)  feet;  thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight 
line  to  intersect  with  the  south  line  of  Twenty -fifth  Street  (extended  east)  at  a 
point  six  hundred  and  sixty  (660)  feet  easterly  from,  measured  at  right  angles 
to,  the  westerly  line  of  the  company's  waylands  as  now  established;  thence 
southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  parallel  to  and  six  hundred  and  sixty  (660 
feet  from  said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Twenty- 
ninth  Street,  extended  east;  thence  southeasterly  in  a  straight  line  to  intersect 
with  the  north  line  of  Thirty-first  Street,  extended  east,  at  a  point  three  hundred 
(300)  feet  easterly  from,  measured  at  right  angles  to  said  westerly  waylands 
line;  then  southeasterly  parallel  to  and  three  hundred  (300)  feet  easterly  from 
said  westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Thirty-ninth 
Street,  extended  east;  thence  west  along  said  north  line  fifty  (50)  feet;  thence 
southeasterly  parallel  to  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  (250)  feet  easterly  from  said 
westerly  waylands  line  to  intersect  with  the  eastern  line  of  Forty-first  Street 
extended  east;  thence  continuing  southeasterly  on  a  line  parallel  to  and  three 
hundred  (300)  feet  easterly  from  the  company's  westerly  waylands  line  as  now 
established  to  intersect  with  the  north  line  of  Forty-ninth  Street,  extended  east, 
which  said  line  with  its  courses  and  distances,  is  shown  in  red  on  plat  attached 
to  said  petition  and  made  part  thereof,  excepting  from  the  above  described  line 
a  part  and  portion  thereof  (in  front  of  the  shore  lands  not  owned  or  claimed 
by  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company),  as  follows,  viz.:  That  portion  adja- 
cent to  the  land  described  as  that  part  lying  east  of  the  west  line  of  the  right  of 
way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  of  the  northeast  fractional  quarter 
(N.  E.  fr.  Yi)  (except  the  south  8.70  chains  thereof)  of  Section  Twenty-seven 
(27),  Township  Thirty-nine  (39)  north.  Range  Fourteen  (14)  east  of  the  third 
(3rd)  principal  meridian,  and  except  a  parcel  of  land  three  hundred  (300)  feet 
in  width  situated  along  and  upon  either  side  of  the  eastwardly  extension  of 
Thirty-ninth  Street  (formerly  known  as  Egan  Avenue),  being  that  parcel  con- 
veyed to  the  City  of  Chicago  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  by  quit- 
claim deed  dated  August  17,  1898. 

8.  That  the  said  Park  Commissioners  and  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  a  riparian  owner,  have  agreed  upon  a  boundary  line  dividing  the  sub- 
merged lands  acquired  or  to  be  acquired  by  said  Park  Commissioners,  and  the 
submerged  lands  to  be  taken,  owned  and  used  by  said  riparian  owner  in  lieu 
of  and  as  compensation  for  the  release  of  said  riparian  rights  to  said  Park  Com- 
missioners, as  last  above  set  forth  in  and  described  in  the  petition  herein;  that 
the  agreement  for  such  purpose  was  duly  made  and  entered  into  between  said 
South  Park  Commissioners  and  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  and  is 
the  agreement  described  in  the  petition  filed  herein. 

The  court  further  finds  that  the  submerged  and  other  lands  to  be  taken  by 
the  said  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  as  said  shore  owner,  under  the  said 
agreement,  in  lieu  of  and  as  compensation  for  the  release  of  its  said  riparian 
rights,  do  not  exceed  in  amount  or  value  the  fair  equivalent  of  said  rights  so 
to  be  released. 

9.  The  court  doth  further  find  from  the  evidence  in  this  case  and  doth 
accordingly  adjudge  and  decree  that  in  and  by  said  agreement  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  public  have  been  duly  conserved  and  that  said  agreement  is  in 
all  respects,  a  fair,  equitable  and  reasonable  agreement  concerning  the  subject 
matter  thereof. 

10.  It  is  further  ordered  that  each  of  the  parties  hereto  shall  pay  its  own 
costs  in  this  proceeding  and  that  none  of  said  parties  has  any  recovery  against 
either  of  the  others  on  account  of  the  costs.* 

Enter: 

(Signed)    L.  Honobe, 
Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County. 


"An  appeal  from  the  decision  of  Judge  Honore  was  taken. 


366 


APPENDIX  I. 

1.  Sundry  Data, — CoRKEsroNDENCE  with  Congressman  James 

R.  Mann  Relative  to  Dumping  in  Lake  Michigan. 

2.  Act  of  the  Inderal  Congress  Prohibiting  Dumping  Within 

Eight  Miles  of  the  Shore. 

A  short  time  after  the  appointment  of  the  Lake  Shore 
Reclamation  Commission,  the  writer  suggested  to  Congressman 
James  R.  Mann  that  some  action  should  be  taken  by  the  Federal 
Government  to  prevent  the  general  use  of  the  great  lakes  for 
sewage  disposal  by  the  several  municipalities  lying  thereon,  one 
of  the  greatest  otfenders  in  this  regard  being  the  City  of  Buf- 
falo, whose  sewage  has  not  only  poisoned  the  waters  of  Niagara 
Falls,  but  has  even  affected  the  scenic  beauty  of  that  greatest  of 
the  world's  wonders.  The  same  subject  was  discussed  by  the 
writer  with  Mayor  Harrison,  but  no  official  action  has  ever  been 
taken  by  Chicago  with  reference  thereto. 

The  following  correspondence  bearing  upon  the  condition 
at  Chicago  is  of  interest : 

HOUSE   OF   REPRESENTATIVES, 

Committee  on 

Interstate  and  Foreign  Commerce, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Chicago,  September  3,  1910. 

Hon.  Theodore  K.  Long,  Chairman  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission,  Chicago. 

My  Dear  Sir: — About  1,000  tons  or  so  of  refuse  matter  is  towed  out  of  the 
Chicago  River  every  day  and  dumped  into  Lake  Michigan.  This  was  formerly 
dumped  near  the  shore  and  was  stirred  up  by  the  storms.  Application  to  the 
War  Department  to  prevent  "close  in"  dumping  was  unavailing,  and  last  winter, 
in  connection  with  Mayor  Busse  and  Dr.  Evans,  Commissioner  of  Health,  and 
William  A.  Bond  and  others  of  the  Association  of  Commerce,  I  took  up  the 
question  of  preventing  the  dumping  of  such  refuse  matter  where  it  might  con- 
taminate our  water  supply  by  passing  a  law  through  Congress. 

The  conclusion  was  reached  that  refuse  material  ought  not  to  be  dumped 
in  the  lake  near  Chicago  in  less  than  sixty  feet  of  water  (below  wave  action) 
about  eight  miles  from  shore,  and  I  accordingly  prepared  a  bill  which  I  intro- 
duced in  Congress,  which,  after  considerable  opposition  on  various  grounds, 
passed  and  became  a  law.  As  the  matter  is  one  of  extreme  importance  to 
Chicago  I  beg  to  inclose  to  you  copy  of  the  law. 

The  inquiry  occurs  to  me,  whether  we  ought  not  to  prevent  the  dumping 
of  any  refuse  material  whatever  in  the  lake,  the  source  of  our  water  supply?  If 
you  have  any  special  views  on  the  subject,  I  will  be  glad  to  hear  from  you. 

Yours  most  truly, 

James  R.  Mann, 
Member  of  Congress,  Second  District,  Illinois, 
164  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 


367 

September  14,  1910. 
Hon.  James  R.  Mann,  Member  of  Congress,  164  Dearborn  Street,  City. 

My  Deab  Congbessman: — Replying  to  your  favor  of  September  3rd,  re  dump- 
ing in  the  lake,  I  beg  to  say  that  I  am  radically  opposed  to  the  dumping  of  any 
refuse  material  whatever  in  the  lake.  It  seems,  indeed,  bad  enough  that  we  are 
obliged  to  keep  up  a  running  fight  against  the  local  scavengers  who  persist  in 
befouling  the  waters  of  the  lake,  and  certainly  the  United  States  Government 
ought  not  to  offend  in  this  manner.  Of  course,  I  suppose  that  if  the  dumping 
scows  were  taken  out  far  enough  into  the  lake  the  evil  effects  therefrom  would 
be  greatly  minimized,  but  they  cannot  be  entirely  removed.  The  only  way,  in 
my  opinion,  to  get  proper  results  is  to  shut  off  dumping  entirely,  and  I  trust 
this  result  may  in  some  way  or  other  be  brought  about. 

Thanking  you  for  bringing  this  matter  to  my  attention,  I  beg  to  remain, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 


(Public— No.  245.) 
(H.  R.  18700.) 

An  Act  to  Prevent  the  Dumping  of  Refuse  Material  in  Lake  Michigan  at  or 
Near  Chicago. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  Congress  assembled.  That  it  shall  not  be  lawful  to  throw, 
discharge,  dump,  or  deposit,  or  cause,  suffer,  or  procure,  to  be  thrown,  dis- 
charged, dumped,  or  deposited,  any  refuse  matter  of  any  kind  or  description 
whatever  other  than  that  flowing  from  streets  and  sewers  and  passing  therefrom 
in  a  liquid  state  into  Lake  Michigan,  at  any  point  opposite  or  in  front  of  the 
County  of  Cook,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  or  the  County  of  Lake,  in  the  State  of 
Indiana,  within  eight  miles  from  the  shore  of  said  lake,  unless  said  material 
shall  be  placed  inside  of  a  breakwater  so  arranged  as  not  to  permit  the  escape 
of  such  refuse  material  into  the  body  of  the  lake  and  cause  contamination  there- 
of; and  no  officer  of  the  Government  shall  dump  or  cause  or  authorize  to  be 
dumped  any  material  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act:  Provided,  however. 
That  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  not  apply  to  work  in  connection  with  the 
construction,  repair,  and  protection  of  breakwaters  and  other  structures  built  in 
aid  of  navigation,  or  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  water  supply.  Any  person 
violating  any  provision  of  this  Act  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  on 
conviction  thereof  shall  be  fined  for  each  offense  not  exceeding  one  thousand 
dollars. 

Approved  June  23,  1910. 


368 

APPENDIX  J. 

Miscellaneous  Coreespondence. 

1.  Letter  of  Corporation  Counsel,  December  15,  1909,  Rela- 

tive TO  "Made  Lands"  Between  Twenty-fourth  and 
Twenty-sixth  Streets. 

2.  Letter  to  Henry  G.  Foreman,  April  27,  1910,  Chairman  of 

THE  South  Park  Commissioners,  Eelativb  to  Lake  Shore 
Suits  Then  Pending. 

3.  Lettp]r  to  Corporation  Counsel  Brundage  June  8,  1910, 

Relative  to  Pullman  Claim. 

4.  Letter  to  Corporation  Counsel  July  20,  1910,  Relative  to 

Filling  Morgan  Shoal. 

5.  Letter  to  Corporation  Counsel,  October  17,  1911,  Relative 

to  Chicago  Beach  Hotel  Claim. 

6.  Letter  from  E.  A.  Potter,  January  26,  1912,  Relative  to 

the  Agreement  of  December  11,  1911,  Between  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company. 

No.  1. 

December  15,  1909. 

IN  RE  RIGHTS  OF  CITY  IN  "MADE"  LAND  ON  LAKE  FRONT,  EAST  OF 
I.  C.  R.  R.  RIGHT  OF  WAY,  BETWEEN  TWENTY-FOURTH  AND  TWENTY- 
SIXTH  STREETS. 

Hon.  John  J.  Hanberg,  Commissioner  of  Public  Works. 

Dear  Sib: — Your  favor  of  December  10,  1909,  in  relation  to  above  subject, 
was  duly  received.    The  documents  enclosed  therewith  are  herewith  returned. 

From  these  documents  it  appears  that  a  police  detail  of  three  men  had 
been  stationed  for  three  months  on  the  "made"  land,  east  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company's  right  of  way,  between  Twenty-fourth  and  Twenty-sixth 
Streets,  to  prevent  the  railroad  from  appropriating  this  land  for  railroad  pur- 
poses, the  land  having  been  made  by  the  city  by  the  dumping  of  street  sweep- 
ings, the  location  being  the  only  convenient  one  for  a  short  haul.  The  with- 
di-awal  of  this  police  detail  on  account  of  the  expense  involved  seems  to  have 
led  to  the  making  of  a  survey  by  the  city  to  the  lake  shore  from  Twenty-second 
to  Thirty-ninth  Streets,  showing  occupation  and  shore  line,  with  a  view  to  fa- 


I 


369 

cilitate  an  opinion  from  this  department  as  to  the  city's  right  to  this  "made" 
land,  and  the  consequent  advisability  of  ordering  the  police  detailed  back  on 
the  land. 

From  the  blue  print  attached,  it  appears  that  east  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  right  of  way  at  the  extension  of  Twenty-fifth  Street  to  the  lake  shore, 
a  public  bathing  beach  has  been  established;  and  the  land  just  south  thereof 
between  Twenty-fifth  and  Twenty-seventh  Streets  extended  is  occupied  by  the 
city  as  a  dump  for  street  sweepings;  and  between  Twenty-sixth  and  Twenty- 
eighth  Streets  extended  are  located  the  round  house  and  switch  tracks  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

The  rights  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  to  the  "made"  lands 
at  this  identical  point  and  the  erection  of  the  round  house,  etc.,  were  passed 
on  by  our  State  and  Federal  Supreme  Courts  in  the  cases  of 

I.  C.  R.  R.  Company  v.  City  of  Chicago,  173  111.  471. 

I.  C.  Railroad  Company  v.  City,  176  U.  S.  646. 

In  this  case  an  injunction  sought  by  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  Company  against  the 
city  to  enjoin  it  from  interfering  with  the  erection  of  such  round  house  was 
refused.  It  was  the  purpose  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  to  re- 
claim the  land  submerged  by  the  shallow  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  in  front  of 
its  property  between  Twenty-fifth  and  Twenty-seventh  Streets  for  the  purpose 
of  erecting  thereon  an  engine  house  and  locomotive  stalls  necessary  to  the  oper- 
ation of  the  road.  The  city  by  its  police  department  prevented  the  completion 
of  the  work.  The  court  held  that  the  railroad  had  no  right  to  fill  in  the  lake 
and  erect  engine  house  on  the  newly  made  land. 

In  both  these  cases  it  was  held  that  the  State  of  Illinois  holds  the  title  to 
the  land  in  question  in  its  sovereign  capacity  in  trust  for  the  people  of  the  entire 
State. 

By  virtue  of  such  ownership,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  in  1907, 
giving  the  South  Park  Commissioners  the  right  to  acquire  the  riparian  rights 
along  the  south  shore  for  park  purposes  by  agreement  with  the  riparian  owners 
and  giving  them  the  right  to  agree  upon  a  boundary  line  between  the  land  taken 
for  park  purposes  and  the  land  retained  by  the  riparian  owners.  So  far  as 
known,  this  right  has  not  been  exercised  and  the  title  to  the  submerged  lands 
in  question  is  still  in  the  State. 

The  State,  by  the  charter  given  to  the  city,  has  delegated  to  the  city  full 
police  power  over  the  lake  for  the  distance  of  three  miles  beyond  the  city  limits. 
Chapter  24,  Paragraph  72,  S.  &  C.  Stat. 

The  police  power  of  the  State  being  thus  given  to  the  city  is  vested  in  the 
City  Council,  and  by  various  ordinances,  that  body  has  clothed  your  department 
with  full  power  and  control  over  the  waters  and  "made"  land  in  question. 
1905  Special  Ordinances,  paragraphs  969  to  1022. 

The  submerged  lands  of  Lake  Michigan  being  the  property  of  the  State  in 
trust  for  all  the  people,  your  act  in  preserving  such  property  from  encroachment 
would  inure  to  the  benefit  of  all  the  people  of  the  State.  The  City  of  Chicago 
as  a  municipal  corporation  has  no  right,  title  or  interest  in  such  submerged 
lands,  except  in  so  far  as  its  people  form  part  of  all  the  people  of  the  State. 

Whatever  interests  the  city  has  in  the  bathing  beach  and  dumping  station 
on  the  land  in  question,  are  held  by  it  by  silent  acquiescence  on  the  part  of  the 
State,  and  no  rights  can  be  acquired  by  the  city  by  virtue  of  such  occupation. 
The  city  as  the  agent  of  the  State,  in  the  exercise  of  its  police  powers,  may, 
through  you,  as  its  agent,  prevent  any  encroachment  upon  the  "made"  lands  in 
question.  The  advisability  of  doing  so,  however,  must  be  governed  by  the  means 
at  your  command  and  must  be  left  to  your  discretion. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Adolph  Traub, 
Assistant  Corporation  Counsel. 
Approved : 

Edward  J.  Brundage, 

Corporation  Counsel. 


370 

No.  2. 


April  27,  1910. 


Henry  O.  Foreman,  Esq.,  Chairman,  South  Park  Commissioners,  108  Dearborn 
Street,  Chicago. 

Dear  Mr.  Foreman: — On  June  8,  1909,  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  the 
City  Council,  Mayor  Busse  appointed  a  special  committee  of  aldermen  which, 
among  other  things,  was  authorized  to  investigate  and  report  on  the  feasibility 
of  establishing  municipal  recreation  piers,  bathing  beaches  and  boat  landings 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan.  In  connection  with  the  work  of  this  committee 
sundry  investigations  of  so-called  riparian  rights  of  the  beach  owners  between 
Jackson  Park  and  Grant  Park  were  made,  the  result  of  which  was  that  the 
writer  became  convinced  that  a  very  large  portion  of  the  lake  shore  between  the 
points  designated  was  being  occupied  and  held  by  claimants  without  legal  or 
equitable  right  thereto. 

As  our  committee  was  not  authorized  or  equipped  to  take  up  the  question  of 
reclamation  of  the  lake  shore,  the  City  Council  at  its  regular  meeting  on  January 
24,  1910,  upon  motion  of  the  writer,  and  with  a  view  to  providing  speedy  action 
in  the  matter,  unanimously  adopted  the  following  resolution: 

Whereas,  sundry  private  interests  and  corporations  claim  ownership  to  large 
portions  of  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  between  Indiana  State  line  on  the  south 
and  Devon  Avenue  on  the  north;  and. 

Whereas,  the  said  lake  shore  should  be  forever  held  by  the  City  of  Chicago 
or  by  the  several  park  boards  within  said  city,  in  trust  for  all  the  people,  for 
recreation  and  park  purposes; 

Resolved,  That  the  Mayor  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  appoint  a 
commission  of  three,  to  be  known  as  the  "Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Commission," 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  make  such  investigations  and  institute  and  carry  on 
such  proceedings  at  law  and  in  equity  as  in  the  judgment  of  said  commission 
may  be  deemed  necessary  or  advisable  to  procure  title  and  possession  to  said 
lake  shore  for  the  said  city  or  park  boards,  and  especially  to  that  portion  there- 
of lying  between  Jackson  Park  and  Grant  Park,  and  to  report  its  proceedings  to 
this  council. 

In  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  resolution  Mayor  Busse  appointed  as  members 
of  the  Commission  therein  provided  for,  Corporation  Counsel  Edward  J.  Brund- 
age.  Health  Commissioner  Dr.  W.  A.  Evans  and  the  writer  as  chairman. 

After  a  number  of  conferences  between  the  various  parties  interested,  in- 
cluding the  Attorney  General,  representing  the  State  of  Illinois,  the  State's  At- 
torney, representing  the  County  of  Cook,  and  also  the  State,  and  the  Corporation 
Counsel,  representing  the  City  of  Chicago,  it  was  concluded  that  suits  should  be 
commenced  in  the  name  of  the  State,  all  other  interests  represented  agreeing 
to  join  therein,  with  a  view  of  recovering  and  conserving  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public  for  park  purposes  the  valuable  shore  lands  involved. 

The  first  suit  in  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  arrangement  was  instituted  by 
the  filing  of  a  bill  in  the  Superior  Court  of  Cook  County  April  2,  1910,  General 
Number  278541,  for  the  recovery  of  the  shore  lands  at  and  near  the  foot  of 
Fifty-first  Street,  a  copy  of  which  bill  is  enclosed  herewith  for  your  information. 

The  work  of  our  commission  is  designed  to  be  in  complete  harmony  with 
the  plans  of  the  South  Park  Commission  for  the  conservation  of  the  lake  shore,^ 
the  essential  purpose  of  our  commission  being  to  acquire  for  the  public  for  park 
purposes  substantially  the  greater  portion  of  the  lake  shore  lying  east  of  the 
eastern  line  of  the  original  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railway  Com- 
pany between  Grant  Park  and  the  Beach  Hotel,  as  well  as  valuable  made  lands 
between  the  Beach  Hotel  and  Jackson  Park. 

Under  the  Act  of  1897  your  commission  Is  vested  with  certain  rights  and 
powers  relating  to  the  lake  front.  With  a  view  of  attaining  the  best  possible 
results  from  our  litigation  and  with  a  view  of  removing  any  possible  conflict 
of  interest,  I  wish  to  assure  you  that  we  would  be  exceedingly  pleased  to  have 
you  co-operate  with  us  in  such  manner  as  may  seem  most  agreeable  to  you,  and 


371 

especially  to  the  extent  of  suspending  action  under  the  Act  of  1897  aforesaid 
pending  our  litigation. 

Awaiting  an  early  reply,  I  beg  to  remain. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long, 
Chairman  Lake  Shore  Reclamation  Committee. 

I  hereby  certify  that  I  this  day  at  the  hour  of  12  o'clock  m.  delivered  to 
Mr.  Henry  G.  Foreman,  at  his  office,  108  Dearborn  Street,  the  original  letter 
of  which  this  is  a  copy,  together  with  the  enclosure  therein  mentioned. 

Dated  this  29th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1910. 

Edward  E.  Brigham. 


No.  3. 

June  8,  1910.. 
Hon.  Edward  J.  Brundage,  Corporation  Counsel. 

Dear  Mr.  Brundage  :^ — Some  time  ago  in  conversation  with  Dr.  Evans,  who 
is  a  member  of  our  commission  and  who  is  keenly  interested  in  our  work,  he 
suggested  to  me  that  during  his  recent  trip  to  Washington  in  connection  with 
the  bill  pending  before  Congress,  his  attention  was  called  to  certain  files  in  the 
War  Department,  which,  upon  examination  by  him,  disclosed  the  following  facts: 

About  1893  George  M.  Pullman  filed  an  application  to  build  a  breakwater 
between  Fifty-third  and  Fifty-fourth  Streets  to  protect  his  property.  With  the 
application  was  filed  a  survey  made  by  Liljencrantz,  which  shows  the  original 
meander  line  of  the  shore  at  that  point,  and  may  be  of  some  use  in  our  inves- 
tigations. 

What  struck  Dr.  Evans  as  significant  in  the  application  was  the  fact  that 
the  applicant  urged  as  a  reason  for  immediate  action  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment, that  he  was  desirous  of  building  on  the  shore  a  charity  hospital  for  the 
benefit  of  the  public.  The  application  was  granted,  but  the  charity  hospital  has 
never  been  forthcoming. 

I  send  you  this  data  in  order  that  it  may  be  preserved  in  the  files  of  the 
Pullman  case. 

I  also  enclose  two  memorandums  showing  the  acreage  involved  in  our  sev- 
eral actions  and  the  value  of  the  same. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 


No.  5. 

Clifton  Hotel,  Niagara  Falls,  Canada,  July  20,  1910. 

To  the  Corporation  Counsel,  City  Hall,  Chicago. 

Dear  Mr.  Brundage: — I  regret  that  I  could  not  find  time  to  have  a  further 
conference  with  you  before  coming  away;  but  the  last  few  days  prior  to  my 
departure  seemed  to  be  so  crowded  with  things  that  had  to  be  disposed  of  that  I 
found  it  physically  impossible  to  attend  to  anything  further. 

At  our  last  conference  we  discussed  somewhat  briefly  our  prospective  decree, 
especially  with  reference  to  the  advisability  of  having  it  settle  the  title  to  our 
lake  shore  reclamations  in  the  South  Park  Commission,  rather  than  in  the  State 
of  Illinois.  Acting  upon  this  idea,  I  called  to  see  Mr.  Redfield  on  Monday  by 
appointment  and  found  him  in  the  midst  of  completing  his  arrangements  to  go 
away  for  his  vacation.  He  very  graciously  turned  me  over  to  his  partner.  Major 
Tolman,  with  whom  I  fully  discussed  the  situation  and  who  arranged  a  meet- 
ing with  Mr.  Foreman  of  the  South  Park  Board  in  the  afternoon.  At  this  meet- 
ing there  were  present  Mr.  Foreman,  his  park  superintendent,  Major  Tolman, 
and  the  writer.    We  went  over  the  details  pretty  fully. 


372 

My  principal  object  in  going  into  the  matter  fully  at  this  time  was  to  urge 
the  South  Park  Board  in  consideration  of  the  work  we  have  done  and  the 
money  we  have  expended  in  bringing  about  this  adjustment,  to  agree  with  the 
city,  so  that  such  agreement  may  be  set  out  in  the  decree,  that  the  South  Park 
will  bear  the  expense  (about  $75,000)  of  the  construction  of  the  temporary  bridge 
leading  from  Morgan's  Pier  to  Morgan's  Shoal,  and  the  retaining  wall  necessary 
to  hold  the  material  on  the  reef.  The  park  should  in  all  fairness  agree  to  this, 
because  we  are  fighting  the  park's  battles  and  making  land  for  them,  and  my 
position  is  that  if  we  do  the  filling-in  for  them,  they  can  well  afford  to  supply 
at  their  own  cost  all  the  temporary  structures  necessary  to  make  such  filling-in 
possible.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  park  board  will  at  least  meet  us 
with  a  fair  suggestion  of  adjusting  this  whole  matter  as  between  the  city  and 
the  park. 

I  gave  Major  Tolman  a  copy  of  the  memorandum  I  dictated,  setting  out 
tentatively  the  basic  points  to  be  covered  by  our  decree,  a  copy  of  which  mem- 
orandum I  left  with  your  clerk  under  seal  for  your  information. 

Kindly  let  me  hear  from  you  at  your  earliest  convenience.  I  expect  to  be 
here  about  two  weeks  from  today,  after  which  I  contemplate  going  down  the  St. 
Lawrence,  Frontenac,  and  later  on  to  Quebec. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodobe  K.  Long. 


No.  6. 

Chicago,  October  17,  1911. 

Eon.  William  H.  Sexton,  Corporation  Counsel. 

Dear  Mr.  Sexton: — This  is  to  remind  you  of  our  conversation  of  some  time 
since  relative  to  the  suit  pending  against  the  Beach  Hotel  Company  for  certain 
made  lands  at  the  corner  of  Fifty-first  Street  and  East  End  Avenue. 

As  stated  then,  my  information  is  to  the  effect  that  the  fee  to  East  End 
Park  is  in  the  city,  the  land  having  been  a  gift  from  one  Cornell  at  a  time  when 
the  shore  line  was  several  hundred  feet  west  of  where  it  is  now;  so  that  the 
accretions  which  have  been  formed  south  of  a  line  beginning  at  the  corner  of 
Fifty-first  Street  and  East  End  Avenue,  or  thereabouts,  and  extending  into  the 
lake,  at  right  angles  with  the  original  shore  line,  would  belong  to  the  city  and 
not  to  the  State. 

For  the  reason  above  set  forth,  I  feel  that  the  city  should  intervene  in  this 
case,  setting  up  its  absolute  ownership  in  the  made  lands  adjacent  to  the  Cornell 
tract;  so  that  the  decree  may  be  made  direct  to  the  city  as  the  owner  of  riparian 
rights  and  consequently  the  owner  of  said  made  lands. 

Will  you  kindly  give  this  matter  your  early  attention  and  greatly  oblige. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 


No.  7. 

January  26,  1912. 
Alderman  Theodore  K.  Long,  City  Hall,  Chicago. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Long: — Since  my  last  interview  with  you  regarding  the  lake 
front  matter,  I  have  given  the  subject  a  great  deal  of  thought,  and  my  conclu- 
sions are  that  while  it  is  very  desirable  that  the  railroad  should  be  restricted 
in  the  use  of  its  entire  right  of  way,  it  would  be  a  great  misfortune  to  the  city 
not  to  have  the  present  tentative  bargain  carried  out,  as  it  would  probably 
result  in  a  long  postponement  of  a  settlement  of  the  question. 

As  you  are  aware,  the  property  abutting  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  is 
of  but  very  little  value  as  residence  property  as  far  south  as  Thirty-fifth  Street, 
yes,  even  as  far  as  Forty-third  Street,  except  a  few  blocks  north  of  Twenty- 
second  Street  and  a  portion  of  the  property  between  Forty-third  and  Thirty-ninth 
Streets,  and  the  first  mentioned  is  already  drifting  into  business.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  this  property  will  never  again  be  as  valuable  for  residence  property 


[ 


373 

as  it  has  been  in  the  past,  as  the  tendency  is  for  all  home  builders  to  seek  the 
country.  Furthermore,  it  is  hardly  conceivable  to  me  that  if  the  railroad  com- 
pany were  not  restricted  as  to  their  old  right  of  way,  that  they  would  be  likely 
to  utilize  it  for  commercial  purposes  from  Randolph  Street  farther  than  Thirty- 
fifth  Street,  and  if  they  did,  they  would  not  be  likely  to  build  anything  more 
objectionable  than  what  they  would  have  an  undisputed  right  to  do,  viz.,  leave 
trains  of  freight  cars  standing  on  their  switches  and  tracks.  In  my  judgment, 
looking  ahead  for  a  period  of  years,  the  time  is  past  when  the  property  abutting 
on  the  west  line  of  the  present  Illinois  Central  right  of  way  will  be  very  valua- 
ble for  anything  besides  business  purposes,  and  it  certainly  is  desirable  that  the 
Field  Museum  should  be  located  at  Twelfth  Street,  and  that  the  whole  matter  be 
settled  now  that  an  agreement  has  been  so  nearly  reached  and  the  city  have  the 
right  to  go  ahead  with  its  contemplated  improvements.  Is  it  not  possible  that 
a  compromise  might  be  effected  as  to  the  restriction  at  some  point  between 
Thirty-first  and  Thirty-fifth  Streets?  This  is  my  deliberate  judgment  irxe- 
spective  of  any  personal  interest  whatever  that  I  have  in  the  matter,  and,  as 
you  know,  I  am  and  have  been  a  property  owner  in  Kenwood  for  a  great  many 
years. 

Yours  very  truly, 

E.    A.    POTTEB. 


i 


374 


APPENDIX  K. 

1.  Map  (Plate  1)  Showing   Peoposed   Location   op  Bathing 

Beaches  Along  the  Lake  Shoke  as  Follows: 

(a)  Montrose  Avenue; 

(b)  DivEKSEY  Boulevard; 

(c)  Ohio  Street; 

(d)  Twenty-second  Street; 

(e)  Thirty-ninth  Street; 

(f)  Fifty-first  Street; 

(g)  Jackson  Park; 

(h)     Se^^enty-ninth  Street. 

2.  Correspondence   with   Edward   0.     Brown     Relative     to 

Above  Proposed  Treatment  of  the  Lake  Shore. 

3.  Correspondence  with  John  Barton  Payne  Concerning  the 

Proposed  Treatment  of  the  Lake  Shore  at  Fifty-first 
Street  and  Morgan  Shoal  Relative  to  the  Building  op 
AN  Island  Park  and  Outer  Boulevard. 

4.  Three  Plats  Showing   Proposed    Treatment    of    Morgan 

Shoai.. 

5.  Recommendations  of  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches.  (See 

Plate  1.) 

6.  Report  of  City  Engineer  Ericson. 

7.  Estimates  of  Cost,  Etc. 

peckham,  brown,  packard  &  walsh, 

Lawyers, 

First  Nationax  Bank  Building, 
Chicago. 

September  28,  1909. 

Hon.  Theodore  K.  Long,  4823  Kimbark  Avenue,  Chicago. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Long: — In  1893,  I  think  it  was,  when  Mr.  Andrew  Crawford 
was  president  of  the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners,  I  became  the  attorney  for 
the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners.  I  was  thereafter,  for  several  years,  the  attor- 
ney or  special  counsel  for  the  commission,  in  fact,  I  continued  to  serve  them  in 
some  ways  until  my  election  to  the  circuit  bench  in  1903. 

Upon  becoming  their  adviser,  I  was  immediately  brought  into  the  consid- 
eration of  questions  concerning  the  rights  of  littoral  owners  upon  Lake  Michi- 
gan. My  advice  to  the  board,  sometimes  in  the  form  of  opinions,  some  of  which 
were  printed  and  distributed,  and  the  litigation  involving  these  questions,  con- 


375 

Btituted  a  large  part  of  my  duties.  Besides  the  controversies  in  relation  to  the 
Ohio  Street  extension  through  all  the  courts,  I  represented  the  commission  in 
the  McKee  scrip  matter,  which  involved  the  same  lands,  before  the  Land  Office 
and  the  Interior  Department  at  Washington,  and  I  brought  to  its  final  and  suc- 
cessful issue  the  case  of  the  People  vs.  Revell,  177  111.  468,  in  which  the  law  of 
Illinois  was  established  in  relation  to  the  rights  of  the  State  over  the  shallows 
of  Lake  Michigan. 

The  Supreme  Court,  at  our  instance  in  this  case,  repudiated  the  doctrine  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  laid  down  in  the  Illinois  Central  case, 
and  this  was  the  foundation  of  all  the  claims  of  the  State  of  the  illegality  of  the 
purprestures  which  littoral  owners  have  erected  in  the  shallows  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan. 

In  Gordon  vs.  Winston  I  again  secured  from  the  Supreme  Court  a  decision 
in  the  matter,  and  in  numerous  other  cases  the  lower  courts,  who  had  the  same 
matters  before  them,  of  course  followed  the  Supreme  Court.  In  the  Gordon  case 
I  pointed  out  in  a  brief  the  use  which  the  State  or  its  agents  could  make  for  the 
people  of  the  shallows  of  Lake  Michigan,  for  recreation  piers,  parkways,  etc.,  and 
appended  to  the  brief  and  argument  some  photographs  showing  the  use  that 
had  been  made  in  New  York. 

I  mention  these  matters  to  show  you  that  I  have  been,  for  many  years,  in- 
terested in  the  question  concerning  which  you,  for  your  committee,  made  a 
report  to  the  Mayor,  and  I  wish  to  say  that  your  proposition  is  the  first  intelli- 
gent and  practicable  suggestion  that  I  have  been  informed  of  for  securing  the 
advantages  for  the  people  generally  of  the  decisions  which  we  obtained.  I 
tried  hard  to  get  members  of  the  Legislature  to  take  up  the  matter  of  framing 
and  passing  a  bill,  general  in  its  terms,  which  might  accomplish  the  result 
aimed  at  by  your  suggestions,  immediately  after  the  decision  of  the  Revell  case, 
but  became  discouraged  when  I  seemed  to  find  that  nobody  was  interested  in 
behalf  of  the  people  when  there  was  nothing  in  it  pecuniarily  for  themselves  or 
clients. 

I  shall  watch  the  proceedings  of  the  commission  upon  this  point,  or  of  any 
conference  that  may  be  had,  with  great  interest,  and  should  be  glad  to  be  of 
use  if  I  can  be.  My  interest  and  acquaintance  in  the  matter  will  be  generally 
recognized. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Edward  O.  Bbown. 


September  30,  1909. 

Mr.  Edward  0.  Brown,  Care  Peckham,  Brown,  Packard  and  Walsh,  First  National 
Bank  Building,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Brown: — I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  favor  of  Sep- 
tember 28th,  and  I  thank  you  very  much  for  the  same.  It  is,  to  say  the  least, 
encouraging  to  receive  such  a  letter  from  one  so  well  versed  in  this  subject  as 
yourself,  and  I  shall  take  occasion  at  an  early  day  to  see  you  and  talk  with 
you  more  fully  on  the  lake  front  matter. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 


October  8,  1912. 

Hon.  John  Barton  Payne,  President,  South  Park  Commissioners,  First  National 
Bank  Building,  City. 

My  Dear  Judge  Payne: — Pursuant  to  my  engagement,  I  herewith  enclose 
four  sketches  relating  to  the  contemplated  improvement  of  Morgan  Shoal  at  or 
near  Fifty-first  Street,  also  report  of  estimates  of  City  Engineer  Ericson. 

I  also  enclose  copy  of  our  bathing  beach  report,  from  which  the  enclosed 
excerpts  are  taken. 


376 

I  desire  especially  to  invite  your  attention  to  "Plate  2  and  Plate  D."  These 
will,  doubtless,  give  you  a  pretty  fair  idea  of  what  our  commission,  co-operating 
with  Mr.  Burnham,  had  in  view.  Plate  2  is  drawn  so  as  to  show  a  connection 
of  the  outer  driveway  with  the  shore  at  Fifty-first  Street.  My  idea,  as  approved 
by  Mr.  Burnham,  was  that  a  start  should  be  made  for  the  outer  driveway  at 
this  point  by  filling  in  Morgan  Shoal,  covering  approximately  one  hundred  acres. 
From  this  point  a  driveway  could  be  carried  southwardly  by  any  one  of  the 
three  following  ways: 

(1)  Connect  Morgan  Shoal  by  a  bridge  or  viaduct  across  the  south  end 
of  the  proposed  lagoon  with  Forty-ninth  Street  and  continue  the  driveway  thence 
along  the  shore  to  Jackson  Park;  or, 

(2)  Connect  Morgan  Shoal  by  an  open  bridge  or  viaduct  across  the  south 
end  of  the  lagoon  with  the  existing  pier  at  Fifty-first  Street,  as  shown  in  Plate 
2,  and  continue  driveway  across  the  pier  and  thence  along  the  shore  to  Jackson 
Park;  or, 

(3)  Continue  the  filling  from  Morgan  Shoal  southerly  and  parallel  with 
the  shore,  carrying  the  driveway  outside  of  the  lagoon  to  Jackson  Park  proper. 

The  second  plan  above  seemed  to  receive  the  most  favor  and  was  the  one  we 
adopted,  our  principal  reasons  therefor  being  that  it  seemed  to  fit  in  logically 
with  the  Burnham  plan,  and  then,  too,  the  bridge  work  necessary  to  effect  a 
shore  connection  with  the  existing  pier  at  Fifty-first  Street  would  be  much 
shorter  and  less  expensive  than  any  connection  required  for  said  Forty-ninth 
Street. 

Trusting  that  the  foregoing  may  give  you  some  idea  of  what  we  have  had 
under  consideration,  I  beg  to  remain. 

Yours  truly, 

Theodore  K.  Long. 

Enclosures: 

1.  Plate  2,  Morgan  Shoal  Park. 

2.  Plate  D,  Morgan  Shoal,  general  ground  plan. 

3.  Plate  1,  diagram  of  lake  shore  showing  bathing  beaches. 

4.  Plate  7,  perspective  view  of  Morgan  Shoal  Island. 

5.  Committee's  recommendation  as  to  bathing  beaches. 

6.  Report  of  City  Engineer  Ericson. 

7.  Estimates  of  cost  by  Chief  Designer  Karl  L.  Lehman. 


SOUTH  PARK  COMMISSIONERS. 

57th  St.  and  Cottage  Grove  A^^:. 
Chicago. 


October  10,  1912. 


Alderman  Theodore  K.  Long,  City  Hall,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

My  Dear  Alderman: — I  am  greatly  indebted  to  you  for  the  plats,  and  so 
forth,  which  you  were  good  enough  to  send  me  re  the  improvement  of  the  lake 
shore  near  the  Beach  Hotel. 

This  is  so  nearly  my  own  idea  in  the  matter  that  it  looks  like  an  inspira- 
tion, and  that  we  were  both  working  on  the  same  line. 
Again  thanking  you,  I  am. 

Very  truly  yours, 

John  Babton  Payne. 


) 


r\ 


M 


PLATE  2. 


J 


■'if^AJirMs    A  A    Hw"'*   ii/J 


r  FIFTY-FIRST 


MoEGAN  Shoal  Park  General  Ground  Plan. 


PLATE  D. 


DIAGRAM    OP  e>MORE  LINE.  vSMOWING 
PR.0P05ED    BATHING     BEACHES- 


PREPARED    POR,COV/<CIL   COMMIITE-E.   ON 
BATHING     BEACHEb     S      KECKEATIOW 
PIERS  AV*.^^      '910. 


DUGBAM  OF  THE  LaKE  ShOEE  FKOM  MoNTEOSE  AveNUE  TO    SeVENTY-NiNTH 

Steeet,  Showing  Proposed  Bathing  Beaches. 


PLATE  1. 


'■jj:'  ■ 


FiFTY-PiKST  Street  PERSPECTm;;  View  of  Island  and  Beach,  Morgan  SnoAii. 


PLATE  7. 


377 


Committee's  Recommendations.* 

In  the  presentation  of  a  plan  for  the  establishment  of  bath- 
ing beaches  and  recreation  piers,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  the 
same  is  necessarily  more  or  less  tentative.  The  proposition  is 
one  that  cannot  be  worked  out  upon  any  fixed  basis  at  this  time. 
Yet  it  is  a  decided  advantage  that  at  least  the  general  outline  of 
the  scheme  should  be  well  understood  and  determined  as  some- 
thing to  which  we  can  hope  to  attain.  The  committee  recom- 
mends the  adoption  of  a  plan  which  contemplates  the  establish- 
ment eventually  of  not  less  than  seven  municipal  bathing  beaches 
to  be  established  substantially  as  follows : 

1.  Montrose  Avenue. 

2.  Diversey  Boulevard.  (This  beach  has  recently  been 
opened  by  the  Lincoln  Park  Commission.) 

3.  Ohio  Street. 

4.  Twenty-second  Street  to  Twenty-fifth  Street.  (A  small 
beach  is  now  maintained  by  the  city  at  Twenty-fifth  Street.) 

5.  Thirty-ninth  Street. 

6.  Jackson  Park.  (The  South  Park  Commission  has 
already  formulated  tentative  plans  for  this  beach.) 

7.  Seventy-ninth  Street.  (The  city  now  maintains  a  small 
beach  at  this  place.) 

The  above  beaches  are  shown  in  detail  in  the  diagram 
marked ''Plate  1." 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  the  committee  recommends  that 
provision  be  made  for  filling  in  Morgan  Shoal  between  Forty- 
eighth  and  Fifty-first  Streets  in  accordance  with  the  plans  of 
Engineer  Ericson,  as  slightly  modified  by  Mr.  Edward  H.  Ben- 
nett, to  conform  to  the  general  shore  lines  of  the  Commercial 
Club  plans,  as  revised  October  25,  1910.    (See  ''Plate  2.") 

Morgan  Shoal  Pabk. 

The  conditions  for  the  making  of  an  island  park  at  this  place  are  more  or 
less  difficult,  owing  to  the  irregular  and  rocky  bottom.  The  plans  as  proposed 
provide  for  an  island  to  be  formed  around  the  shoal  and  of  about  forty-five 
acres  area.  Owing  to  the  limited  capacity  of  the  bridge  that  would  have  to  lead 
to  this  island  and  also  on  account  of  the  difficulty  in  dumping  material  direct  at 
this  place  so  that  dumpings  in  the  lake  would  probably  have  to  be  rehandled, 
it  would  take  a  good  many  years  to  build  the  island  as  proposed.  The  outline 
of  the  island  falls  within  the  City  Beautiful  plan. 

The  depth  of  water  at  the  site  varies  from  four  to  fifteen  feet  below  city 
datum.  The  method  proposed  for  forming  the  island  is  as  follows:  A  ridge  is 
made  over  the  highest  parts  of  the  lake  bottom  as  a  center  rib  of  the  island  with 
cross  ridges  to  both  sides,  forming  pockets  for  the  deposited  fill,  with  a  rock- 
filled  crib  forming  about  a  half  circle  on  the  side  toward  the  shore,  sunk  in 
about  twelve  feet  of  water  with  rip-rap  stones  on  both  sides. 

*See  Joint  Report  of  Committee  on  Bathing  Beaches  and  Lake  Shore  Reclam- 
ation Commission,  December,  1910. 


378 

The  ridges  are  supposed  to  be  made  of  good  sized  stones,  bought  from  the 
Sanitary  District,  eight  feet  wide  on  top,  five  feet  above  water,  and  sloping  one 
foot  vertically  in  two  feet  horizontally.  The  rock-filled  crib  will  be  four  feet 
above  water  and  sixteen  feet  wide,  built  of  12  by  12  inch  side  timbers  (half  open) 
and  cross  timbers,  made  in  sections,  and  sunk,  but  connected,  above  water,  and 
floored  over  so  that  it  can  be  used  as  a  landing  two  thousand  feet  long. 

The  connection  with  the  shore  consists  of  a  trestle  built  on  cribs  where  the 
bottom  is  rock  and  the  balance  pile  trestle  to  the  existing  pier  at  the  Fifty- 
first  Street  Bathing  Beach;  this  pier  to  be  widened  to  the  same  width  as  the 
trestle,  eighteen  feet.  This  trestle  is  not  intended  as  a  permanent  bridge,  but 
will  be  kept  in  repair  and  used  during  construction  for  wagon  traflEic,  for  which 
channel  iron  tracks  are  provided. 

The  first  year  the  south  half  of  the  crib  and  the  trestle  should  be  built, 
as  well  as  the  two  corresponding  ridges  forming  the  southwesterly  pocket,  and 
say,  fifty  thousand  cubic  yards  dumped  in  place.  This  will  cost  about  $50,000. 
During  the  next  four  years  the  filling  in  should  be  continued  and  extended  over 
the  adjoining  western  pocket,  completing  the  timber  crib  and  ridge  for  same. 
The  cost  of  this  work  is  estimated  at  $140,000,  or  $35,000  for  each  of  the  four 
years.  Total  for  five  years,  $190,000,  for  sixteen  acres.  In  the  following  five 
years  the  middle  pockets  should  be  built  and  filled  at  a  cost  of  about  $30,000  a 
year.  Total  cost  in  ten  years  for  thirty  acres,  $340,000.  The  third  five-year 
period  should  finish  this  work  at  a  cost  of  about  $40,000  a  year.  Total  cost 
therefor,  $540,000,  or  about  $12,000  per  acre,  or  for  a  25  by  125-foot  lot  with 
share  of  the  streets  and  alleys,  $1,250. 

In  course  of  time  the  island  is  likely  to  increase  by  the  action  of  the  waves. 

The  price  per  cubic  yard  of  fill  (which  is  five-sixths  of  the  whole  work)  is 
difficult  to  estimate  closely.  Quite  an  amount  will  be  dumped  free  of  charge, 
but  the  greater  part  will  have  to  be  paid  for,  and  for  the  part  above  and  near 
water  level  the  material  will  have  to  be  rehandled  after  dumping  of  same,  ex- 
cept such  material  as  is  brought  over  the  trestle. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

(Signed)    John  Eeicson, 

City  Engineer. 

MORGAN  SHOAL  PARK. 

ESTIMATE  OF  COST. 

First  Five  Years'  Work. 

Bridge  to  Island.     (1,200  Feet.)     First  Year: 

Piling,  3,000  lineal  feet,  at  $0.20 $  600.00 

Rock,  2,000  cubic  yards,  at  $0.50 1,000.00 

Steel,  32  tons,  at  $50.00 1,600.00 

Bolts,  spikes,  etc.,  10  tons  at  $60.00 600.00 

Timber,  210,000  feet,  B.  M.,  at  $40.00 8,400.00 

Grading  road,  200  lineal  feet,  at  $1.50 300.00 


$  12,500.00 
Crib  to  Protect  Shore  of  Island.     (2,000  feet.)     First  and  Second  Years: 

Timber,  600,000  feet,  B.  M.,  at  $40.00 $  24,000.00 

Rock,  23,000  cubic  yards,  at  $0.50 11,500.00 

Iron  rods,  etc.,  25  tons,  at  $60.00 1,500.00 

$  37,000.00 
Making  Island.     (16  acres.)     First  Five  Years: 

Rock,  40,000  cubic  yards,  at  $0.30 $  12,000.00 

Filling,  428,000  cubic  yards,  about  $0.30 128,500.00 

$140,500.00 
First  Five  Years $190,000.00 


379 

First  Year's  Work. 

Bridge    |  12,500.00 

Crib  (one-half)    18,500.00 

Making  island  19,000.00 

First  Year's  Work $  50,000.00 

Second  Five  Years'  Work. 

Making  Island.     (14  acres.) 

Rock,  30,000  cubic  yards,  at  $0.30 $     9,000.00 

Filling,  470,000  cubic  yards,  at  $0.30 141,000.00 


$150,000.00 
Third  Five  Years'  Work. 

Making  Island.     (15  acres.) 

Rock,  80,000  cubic  yards,  at  $0.30 $  24,000.00 

Filling,  587,000  cubic  yards,  at  $0.30 176,000.00 


$200,000.00 


Grand  total  for  45  acres $540,000.00 

Summary. 

1st  year $  50,000.00        9th  year $  30,000.00 

2d   year 35,000.00      10th  year 30,000.00 

3d  year 35,000.00      11th  year 40,000.00 

4th  year 35,000.00      12th  year 40,000.00 

5th  year 35,000.00      13th  year 40,000.00 

6th  year 30,000.00      14th  year 40,000.00 

7th  year 30,000.00      15th  year 40,000.00 

8th  year 30,000.00  

Total  $540,000.00 

$540,000  for  45  acres  equals  $12,000  per  acre. 
45  acres  in  15  years  equals  3  acres  per  year. 

Total  rock,  cubic  yards 175,000 

Total  earth,  sand  and  clay,  cubic  yards 1,485,000 


Total  fill,  cubic  yards 1,6*0,000 

(Signed)    Cabl  L.  Lehmann, 

Chief  Designer. 


380 


II 


APPENDIX  L. 

Withdrawal  of  Appearances  and  Answers  of  the  City  by  the 

Corporation  Counsel  in  the  Illinois  Central  Lake  Shore 

Case. 

The  Clerk  presented  the  following  communication  submitted 
by  the  Corporation  Counsel,  which  was  ordered  published  and 
placed  on  file: 

Department  of  Law,  Chicago,  July  8,  1912. 

To  the  Honorable,  the  City  Council. 

Gentlemen: — March  30,  1912,  an  agreement  was  made  between  the  South 

Park  Commissioners,  a  municipal  corporation,  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 

Company   relating  to  lands   and   riparian   rights,   removal   of  passenger   depot, 

location  of  viaducts  and  other  matters  in  the  City  of  Chicago  and  cancelling 

an  agreement  between  the  parties  made  December  11,  1911. 

Later  the  South  Park  Commissioners  filed  its  petition  in  the  Circuit  Court 

of  Cook  County  praying  that  the  boundary  line  fixed  by  said  agreement  be  con* 

firmed. 

May  20,  1912,  your  Honorable  Body  passed  the  following  order: 

''Ordered,  That  the  Corporation  Counsel  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized 
and  directed  to  enter  the  appearance  of  the  City  of  Chicago  in  said  pro- 
ceedings and  to  take  such  steps  as  he  may  deem  proper  to  protect  the  inter- 
ests of  the  city  and  public." 

The  statute  under  which  the  proceedings  were  filed  in  the  Circuit  Court  au- 
thorized any  taxpayer  or  legal  voter  in  the  South  Park  District  to  file  objec- 
tions to  the  confirmation  of  the  boundary  line.  No  authority  is  found  under 
which  the  city  could  enter  its  appearance,  but  by  stipulation  of  counsel,  the 
same  was  filed.  Out  of  an  abundance  of  caution,  however,  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable to  enter  the  appearance  of  a  taxpayer  and  legal  voter  in  the  South  Park 
District,  and  upon  my  request,  Mr.  Maclay  Hoyne,  First  Assistant  Corporation 
Counsel,  filed  his  answer  and  the  same  was  adopted  by  the  city  as  its  answer. 
On  July  3,  1912,  on  our  motion,  an  order  was  entered  by  Judge  Honore 
allowing  the  city  and  Mr.  Hoyne  to  withdraw  their  appearances  and  answers 
respectively.  The  reasons  for  so  withdrawing  are  set  forth  in  the  following 
statement  made  to  the  court  by  me: 

"May  20,  1912,  the  City  Council,  on  motion  of  Alderman  Cermak,  passed  the 
following  order: 

''Ordered,  That  the  Corporation  Counsel  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized 
and  directed  to  enter  the  appearance  of  the  City  of  Chicago  in  said  proceed- 
ing and  to  take  such  steps  as  he  may  deem  proper  to  protect  the  interest  of 
the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  public." 

"In  compliance  with  the  order  of  the  City  Council  the  appearance  of  the 
City  of  Chicago  was  entered.  The  statute  under  which  the  proceedings  were 
filed  in  the  Circuit  Court  authorized  any  taxpayer  or  legal  voter  in  the 
South  Park  District  to  file  objections  to  the  confirmation  of  the  boundary 
line.  No  authority  is  found  under  which  the  city  could  enter  its  appearance, 
but  by  stipulation  of  counsel,  the  same  was  filed.  Out  of  an  abundance  of 
caution,  however,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  enter  the  appearance  of  a  tax- 
payer and  legal  voter  in  the  South  Park  District,  and  upon  request  of  the 
Corporation  Counsel,  Mr.  Maclay  Hoyne,  First  Assistant  Corporation  Coun- 
sel, filed  his  appearance.  Later  he  filed  his  answer  and  the  same  was  adopted 
by  the  city  as  its  answer. 


381 

"The  proposition  of  a  settlement  of  the  lake  front  controversy,  which 
controversy  has  been  in  existence  for  the  past  forty  years  or  more,  has  met 
with  the  approval  of  Mayor  Harrison  and  his  reasons  therefor  are  set  forth 
in  his  veto  message  of  May  20,  1912.  The  settlement  of  the  lake  front  con- 
troversy has  been  undertaken  by  the  South  Park  Commissioners,  in  whom 
the  title  to  the  submerged  lands  of  Lake  Michigan  adjoining  the  South  Park 
District  was  vested  by  the  Illinois  General  Assembly.  It  was  the  intention 
of  the  Corporation  Counsel  and  Mr.  Hoyne  to  represent  the  interest  of  the 
taxpayers  and  the  citizens  of  Chicago  generally,  although  in  law,  only  those 
living  in  the  South  Park  District  are  directly  interested  in  the  question  of 
the  boundary  line  and  the  contract  made  between  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company.  Certain  citizens  were 
represented  in  the  proceedings  by  Mr.  Lessing  Rosenthal,  but  their  objec- 
tions to  the  confirmation  of  the  boundary  line  fixed  by  the  contract  of  March 
30,  1912,  have  been  withdrawn  because  of  the  making  of  a  supplemental 
contract  between  the  South  Park  Commissioners  and  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company,  which  purports  to  cover  the  objections  said  persons  had 
to  the  contract  of  March  30,  1912. 

"The  Corporation  Counsel  and  Mr.  Hoyne  do  not  concede  that  this  sup- 
plemental contract  will  have  all  the  effect  that  the  public  has  been  led  to 
believe  it  will  have.  They  understand  that  this  supplemental  contract  is  not 
made  a  part  of  the  original  contract  of  March  30,  1912,  but  stands  by  itself 
to  be  carried  out  by  the  parties  to  the  contract  if  they  choose  to  carry  it 
out,  and  to  be  enforced  by  legal  proceedings  if  the  parties  thereto  fail  to 
carry  out  all  its  provisions  if  it  is  capable  of  being  legally  enforced. 

"It  is  well  known  that  the  city  instigated  the  institution  of  suits  to 
reclaim  made  lands  lying  south  of  Twelfth  Street.  One  of  these  suits  is 
against  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  claims  title  in  the  State 
to  certain  made  lands  lying  east  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  These  suits 
were  instituted  in  the  name  of  the  Attorney  General  of  Illinois  and  the 
State's  Attorney  of  Cook  County.  Since  the  trial  of  this  proceeding  began 
before  Judge  Honore,  the  Attorney  General,  through  his  representative,  Mr. 
Robert  N.  Holt,  has  taken  the  position  that  the  State  is  not  interested  in 
the  pending  proceeding  and  that  the  claims  of  the  State  to  the  made  lands 
relied  on  in  the  State's  reclamation  case,  will  be  maintained  after  the  ter- 
mination of  the  pending  proceeding  here  if,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Attorney 
General,  such  claims  ought  to  be  pressed  and  insisted  upon. 

"All  the  foregoing  places  the  city  in  a  peculiar  position  and  one  more  or 
less  anomalous.  The  South  Park  Commissioners  under  the  law  is  an  inde- 
pendent municipal  corporation  and  has  the  legal  right  to  make  the  contract 
which  was  made  on  March  30,  1912,  and  to  file  the  petition  to  confirm  the 
boundary  line  fixed  in  the  contract.  The  City  of  Chicago  as  a  municipal 
corporation  has  no  independent  or  supervisory  powers  over  the  making  of 
the  contract  or  the  fixing  of  the  boundary  line.  Nor  has  the  city  the  right 
to  bind  the  State  or  control  its  attitude  as  to  the  made  lands  which  are  the 
subject  of  the  reclamation  case  pending  against  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company.  The  city  is  in  the  further  position  of  being  a  party  defendant  to 
this  suit,  and  it  may  be  contended  later  that  the  city  is  bound  by  all  the 
terms  of  the  decree  which  may  be  entered  and  by  the  provisions  of  the 
contract  of  March  30,  1912,  and  perhaps  of  the  supplemental  contract  made 
as  a  condition  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  objections  of  the  citizens  above  re- 
ferred to.  The  City  of  Chicago  was  not  a  party  to  either  the  contract  of 
March  30,  1912,  nor  to  said  supplemental  contract  and  took  no  part  in  the 
negotiations  leading  up  to  the  making  of  either  contract.  It  may  be  that 
the  City  Council  and  the  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Chicago  are  not  entirely 
satisfied  with  all  the  provisions  of  said  two  agreements.  But,  however  that 
may  be,  the  City  Council  will  have  ample  opportunity  to  conserve  the  rights 
of  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  public  in  any  way  it  may  see  fit  when  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  comes  to  the  City  of  Chicago  for  an 
ordinance  granting  to  the  railroad  company  certain  privileges,  which  the 
railroad  will  have  to  do  when  it  carries  out  certain  improvements  which 
it  now  contemplates  and  without  which  it  will  derive  no  benefit  from  the 


382 


lands  which  it  may  receive  by  its  agreement  with  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners. 

"For  all  the  foregoing  reasons,  the  Corporation  Counsel  and  Mr.  Hoyne 
have  decided  to  withdraw  the  appearances  of  the  City  of  Chicago  and  of  Mr. 
Hoyne,  respectively,  and  in  so  doing  are  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  the  proper 
step  to  take  to  protect  the  interest  of  the  city  and  the  general  public." 

I  transmiritierewith  a  copy  of  said  supplemental  agreement  for  your  infor- 
mation. 

I  sincerely  trust  that  my  action  in  withdrawing  the  appearance  of  the  City 
of  Chicago  will  meet  with  the  full  approval  of  your  Honorable  Body. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Wm.  H.  Sexton, 
Corporation  Counsel. 
(Council  Proceedings,  July  8,  1912,  p.  1052.) 


-     J       / 


L      A      A       E 


C      A      L      7     M     E      T 


;>   CO 

in    c 

;'  r     ^ 
;•  n   "S 


i.*?^'.:.' 


383 

APPENDIX  M. 

Survey  of  Lake  Calumet. 


REPORT 


OF  TOE 


.AKE  SHORE  RECLAMATION  COMMISSION 


CHICAGO,    1912 


BARNARD  &  MILLER,  PRINTERS,  CHICAGO. 


■i... ;  ;^.v; 


ii'^'^-'H7-;l^|?^.|S 


UNIVERSrTY  OF  ILLINOIS-UBBANA 


3  0112  068175394 


